cepimus

Cepimus is the first-person plural perfect indicative active form of the Latin verb capere, meaning to seize, take, or capture. In English it is commonly rendered as "we took" or "we have taken." It belongs to the third conjugation in its -io subgroup (capio, capere).

Etymology and morphology: Cepimus is built from the perfect stem ceper- with the standard personal ending -imus for the 1st person plural. The corresponding 1st person singular is cepi, and the 3rd person plural perfect form is ceperunt. As a form of capere, cepimus is active voice and is used for completed actions in the past or with a perfect aspect.

Usage: Cepimus appears in classical Latin texts in contexts of warfare, raid, acquisition, or any situation involving taking or capturing something. It can express a simple past event or a perfect aspect with lasting relevance, depending on context and translation. It is often followed by a direct object in the accusative (for example, praedam, hostes, or urbes).

Examples:

- Hostes cepimus. — We captured the enemies.

- Praedam cepimus. — We seized the loot.

Related forms and notes: Cepimus is part of a broader set of perfect forms derived from capere, including cepi (I took) and ceperunt (they took). Capere itself is a semi-deponent-like -io verb whose present forms show characteristic i-stem behavior, while cepimus belongs to the regular perfect system with the ceper- stem.

See also: capere, cepi, ceperunt.