conduco

Conduco is a Latin verb of the third conjugation meaning to lead together, to bring, or to conduct. It also carries nuanced senses such as to assemble, to direct, or to hire or recruit troops or workers. The form is built from the prefix con- meaning “together” and ducere “to lead,” reflecting the idea of leading people or things as a group.

The principal parts are conduco, conducere, conduxi, conductum. From these, standard third-conjugation endings are used to form the present, imperfect, perfect, and other tenses in active and passive voices. In the present active indicative, the forms include conduco, conducis, conducit, conducimus, conducitis, conducunt; the present passive would be conducor, conduceris, conducitur, conducimur, conducimini, conducuntur. The perfect active is conduxi, and the supine or perfect passive participle is conductum.

Usage in Latin ranges from the physical act of leading someone or something to the more abstract sense of conducting or managing a process, a journey, or a recruitment. Common contexts include leading troops or authorities (conducere exercitum), directing a project, or hiring people or services (conducere mercenaries). Classical authors employ conduco for both literal guiding and more figurative bringing together of people or resources.

Derivatives and related terms appear in many modern languages. English derivatives such as conduct, conductor, and conduction trace back to conducere, the same root as conduco. The verb also connects to other Latin formations built on ducere, such as inducere and conducere, which underlie related meanings of leading, bringing in, or guiding. See also ducere for the broader family of “lead” verbs.