ferebat

Ferebat is the third-person singular imperfect active indicative form of the Latin verb ferre, meaning to bear, carry, or bring. In English translations it is usually rendered as “he/she/it was carrying” or “he/she/it used to carry.” It is not a standalone lexical item but an inflected form that appears in Latin texts to describe ongoing action in the past.

Grammatical notes: Ferebat is in the imperfect tense, indicating a past action that was ongoing or habitual. The subject is supplied by context, and the object, when present, follows the verb (for example, arma ferebat = he was carrying weapons). The corresponding plural form is ferebant (“they were carrying”). The verb ferre is irregular in some forms, but ferebat represents the standard 3rd person singular imperfect.

Origin and usage: Ferre is a fundamental Latin verb with a broad range of meanings related to bearing, carrying, bringing, or conveying. In classical prose and poetry, ferebat occurs frequently as the narrative past tense for actions involving carrying or bringing something. It also appears in compounds and in idiomatic expressions where “to bear” or “to endure” carries figurative sense.

See also: ferre, the Latin verb meaning to bear or carry; Latin verb conjugation, including the imperfect tense; examples of classical Latin usage illustrating the form ferebat.