cingebamus

Cingebamus is a Latin verb form: it is the imperfect indicative active, first person plural, of the verb cingere, which means to gird, encircle, surround, or equip. The infinitive is cingere, and cingebamus is used to describe ongoing past action, such as an encirclement or a preparation that was in progress.

Etymology and morphology: Cingere belongs to the third conjugation in Latin. The imperfect active endings for 1st person plural are -bāmus, yielding cingebāmus in the first person singular, but in standard spelling with the combined form it appears as cingebamus. This form is related to other forms like cingebas, cingebat, cingebant, and to related nouns such as cinctus (girded) from the same stem.

Usage: In Classical Latin, cingere covers both literal and figurative senses. Literally, it can mean to gird or encircle with a belt, band, or armor, or to encircle a place such as a city or camp. Figuratively, it can denote surrounding someone with guards or honors. Cingebamus, as the first-person plural imperfect, would be used to describe a past scene in which the subject group was in the act of girding, surrounding, or equipping.

Example: Nos castra cingebamus. Translation: We were surrounding/encircling the camp.

See also: cingere, cinctus, circumdare, circumvenire. The form is part of a broader set of Latin verbal forms built on the cinge- stem.