factus

Factus is a Latin term that functions as the perfect passive participle of the verb facere, meaning to do or to make. In classical Latin it is used both as an adjective and as a participle, describing something that has been made or accomplished, and it occurs in constructions that express a completed action or a change of state.

Form and agreement: The participle agrees with its noun in gender, number, and case: masculine singular factus; feminine singular facta; neuter singular factum; plural masculine facti; feminine factae; neuter facta.

Usage: As an attributive or predicate adjective, res facta can mean “the thing done” or “the done thing.” In periphrastic constructions with esse, factus est can mean “he became” or “he has become.” The related phrase quo facto (by which fact) and ipso facto (by that very fact) are common Latin expressions derived from this root form.

Examples: Id factum est means “That has been done.” Ioannes factus est dux means “John became (was made) a duke.” These uses illustrate how factus can convey either completed action or a change of state when paired with forms of esse.

In English usage, factus appears almost exclusively in Latin phrases, scholarly Latin passages, or mottoes, and is not a standard native English word. The neuter noun form factum, meaning “a thing done” or “a deed,” has influenced the English word fact through historical routes, though via different etymological pathways.

See also: facere, factum, ipso facto.