laesus

Laesus is a Latin adjective and the perfect passive participle of the verb laedere, meaning to injure or harm. As an adjective, it agrees in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies, with typical forms such as laesus (masculine singular), laesa (feminine singular), and laesum (neuter singular). In plural, the forms align with standard 1st/2nd declension patterns. In classical usage, laesus commonly conveys physical injury but can also denote harm in a moral or legal sense.

In grammar and style, laesus can be used predicatively or attributively. For example, one may encounter constructions like hostis laesus est, “the enemy has been injured,” or laesa civitas, “the injured (or harmed) city/people.” Because it is a participial adjective, laesus also appears in many phrases where it describes a state resulting from an action, often linked to the verb laedere in preceding or implied clauses.

Etymologically, laesus derives from laedere, “to injure” or “to harm,” and is used in the standard Latin inflection pattern of 1st/2nd declension adjectives. The related noun laesio, meaning “injury” or “wrong,” is more common in legal and ethical contexts, especially in discussions of harm in Roman law and early legal writings.

Today, laesus is primarily of interest in Latin linguistics and philology. It is not a widely attested proper noun or place name in historical sources, but appears in dictionaries and grammars as a typical example of a regular participial adjective formed from laedere. See also laedere, laesio, iniuria.