afficere

Afficio, afficere, affeci, affectum is a Latin verb meaning to affect, to influence, to bring upon, or to inflict. It can denote physical or emotional impact and is used transitively to indicate what is affected. In medical or figurative contexts it can mean to be afflicted by a disease or condition or to fill someone with a state such as fear or admiration.

The verb is a third‑conjugation verb of the -io class. Principal parts: afficio, afficere, affeci, affectum. It follows the pattern of other -io verbs in its present, imperfect, and future forms, with a present active indicative such as afficio, afficis, afficit, afficimus, afficitis, afficiunt; imperfect afficiebam, afficiebas, afficiebat, afficiebamus, afficiebatis, afficiebant; and future afficiam, afficiet, afficietis, etc. The perfect active is affeci, and the supine is affectum. The passive present is afficior, afficeris, afficitur, afficimur, afficimini, afficiuntur, with corresponding participles such as afficiens and the perfect passive participle affectus.

Usage notes: afficere commonly governs a direct object in the accusative to denote what is affected, sometimes accompanied by a dative of the person affected. In poetry and prose it can express physical influence, emotional state, or a condition imposed on someone or something. The verb is related to English affect, through the Latin affectus family of words.

Etymology: formed with the prefix ad- (frequently realized as af-) plus facere, yielding a sense of bringing toward or producing a state in someone or something.