depicere

Depicere is a Latin verb meaning to depict, portray, or present something in a picture or description. The form is built from the prefix de- and a root related to painting or representation, connecting it with other Latin words for image, painting, and depiction. In Latin, depicere belongs to the third-conjugation -io class, with present forms such as depicio, depicis, depicit, depicimus, depicitis, depictunt, and corresponding imperfect and future forms. The passive and participial forms follow the standard patterns of -io verbs, and the perfect passive participle is depictus.

Usage in Latin centers on art and description. Depicere is used when a writer seeks to illustrate a scene, figure, or event in a visual or detailed way—whether describing a painting, a sculpture, or a dramatic tableau within a narrative. It can carry both literal and figurative senses, such as depicting a character or situation in vivid terms. As with related verbs of representation, depicere often governs direct objects referring to persons, scenes, or actions to be shown or explained.

In English, the verb depict is derived from the Latin depicere (via the related participle depictus). The word retains a similar sense: to present, show, or describe in a picture or detailed narrative. In both Latin and English, depicere emphasizes the act of making a representation intelligible to an audience, whether visually or descriptively.

See also: pictor, pictura, depictio, effigies, pingo.