caedere

Caedere is a Latin verb meaning to cut, strike, or kill. In classical Latin it covers literal acts such as cutting with a weapon or felling trees, as well as more figurative uses like defeating an opponent or bringing something to an end. The word appears frequently in prose and poetry across legal, military, religious, and literary contexts.

Conjugation and principal parts: caedō, caedere, cecīdī, caesum. It is a third-conjugation verb, with the present active indicative following the regular endings of that class (for example, caedō, caedis, caedit, caedimus, caeditis, caedunt). The infinitive is caedere; the perfect active is formed with cecīdī, and the supine is caesum. The present passive and other tenses follow the standard third-conjugation patterns as well, such as caedor, caederis, caeditur, caedimur, caediminī, caeduntur.

Uses and nuances: caedere commonly denotes killing a person or animals, but it also means to cut down or fell trees, to strike down in battle, or to suppress or quell something in a broader sense. In legal and rhetorical contexts, the term can carry strong or violent overtones, reflecting its association with death, destruction, or decisive action. The verb can occur with direct objects in the accusative and may take indirect constructions depending on the sense.

Related noun: caedēs, caedis (feminine, 3rd declension) is a derived noun meaning murder, slaughter, or killing. It is often used in contexts describing death or mass violence, and appears in various Latin authors and legal texts.

Notes: As a common and versatile verb, caedere interacts with a range of stems and endings across the Latin tenses and voices. Its core sense centers on bringing to an end by cutting or striking, with both literal and figurative extensions in classical Latin literature.