insequebantur

Insequebantur is a Latin verb form from insequor, insequi, insecutus sum, a deponent verb meaning “to follow, pursue, come after.” The form insequebantur is the imperfect indicative, third person plural, of insequor in its deponent morphology. Because insequor is deponent, its passive endings carry active meaning in translation: “they were following/pursuing.”

Morphology and principal parts: insequor (present), insequeris (present), insequitur (present), insequimur (present), insequimini (present), insequentur (present); imperfect is insequebar, insequebaris, insequebatur, insequebamur, insequebamini, insequebantur. The perfect system uses a participial form, typically insecutus sum (I have pursued) for the corresponding active sense, though translated as “I have followed/pursued” in English due to the deponent morphology. The verb’s etymology traces to in- “toward, after” plus sequor “to follow.”

Usage and meaning: insequebantur conveys ongoing past action in narratives, often describing pursuit or close following in military, legal, or descriptive contexts. It governs a direct object in the accusative when indicating the thing followed or pursued, e.g., Milites insequebantur hostēs (“The soldiers were pursuing the enemies”). The sense can be extended to follow in a figurative sense, such as pursuing a goal or line of argument.

In relation to other forms: insequor is the present active-deponent form; insecutus sum represents the corresponding perfect, with translation influenced by the deponent nature. For reference, standard Latin dictionaries such as Lewis and Short document insequor and its compounds.