anidaron

Anidaron is the third-person plural preterite form of the Spanish verb anidar, meaning “they nested” or “they built nests.” It can describe birds or other animals nesting, or people or groups establishing shelter or residence in a place, and it is also used metaphorically to indicate that ideas, doubts, or emotions took root in a memory or in a mind.

The root verb anidar is a regular -ar verb. Its preterite forms are: yo anidé, tú anidaste, él/ella/Ud. anidó, nosotros anidamos, vosotros anidasteis, ellos/ellas/Uds. anidaron. For example: Las golondrinas anidaron en las cornisas; las dudas anidaron en la mente de los jueces durante el juicio.

Etymology and usage notes: anidar is related to nido, nest, and derives from the same semantic field as a nest or shelter. The term is common in ecology and biology when describing nesting behavior, and it is also used figuratively to convey something that settles or takes hold in a space, such as a memoria, un lugar, or un grupo. In everyday Spanish, anidar can appear in expressions like anidar en, meaning to take root or become established in a place or in the mind.

See also: anidar, nido, nidus.