existere

Existere is a Latin verb meaning to come into being, to exist, or to appear. It is built from the prefix ex- meaning out and a stem related to stare, giving a sense of standing forth or arising into existence. In classical Latin, the verb esse is the ordinary expression of existence; existere is attested primarily in late antique and medieval Latin texts, where it is used in philosophical and theological contexts to discuss the existence or emergence of things, beings, or events.

Inflection and principal parts are recorded in Latin dictionaries; in practice existere functions as a third-conjugation verb, though exact forms are subject to the standard lexical irregularities of late Latin.

Existere has contributed to the formation of the Romance languages’ verbs for “to exist” (for example French exister, Italian esistere, Spanish existir, Portuguese existir) and to the English word “exist” and the noun “existence” via Old French.

Today existere is studied mainly for historical and philological reasons, as scholars distinguish between esse (to be) and existere (to come into existence) in discussions of ontology and metaphysics. Its use underscores how Latin differentiated modes of being, existence, and generation in later periods.

See also: esse, existence, ontology, existentialism.