latuerint

Latuerint is a Latin verb form used to express potential or hypothetical action in the past. It is the third-person plural perfect active subjunctive of lateo, to lie hidden or to be concealed. The verb lateo belongs to the second conjugation (-eo verbs) in Latin. The perfect active subjunctive is formed from the third principal part latui with the subjunctive endings -erim, -eris, -erit, -erimus, -eritis, -erint; thus latuerint corresponds to “they may have hidden” or “that they may have lain hidden,” depending on the sense of lateo.

Form and usage notes: Latuerint is one of the forms that the Latin perfect subjunctive can take in dependent clauses. It typically appears in indirect questions, clauses of fearing, hoping, or doubting, and in certain historical or literary constructions that require a past-time perspective within a subjunctive mood. It is used to convey a past-time action viewed in a hypothetical or potential way, rather than as a straightforward past fact. Other persons of this verb form are latuerim (1st singular), latueris (2nd singular), latuerit (3rd singular), latuerimus (1st plural), and latueritis (2nd plural).

Translations and nuance: Because lateo conveys concealment, latuerint often implies concealment that is hypothetical or conjectured in a past context. The exact English rendering varies with context and translation tradition, frequently rendered as “they may have hidden” or “that they may have lain hidden.”

See also: Latin verbs, Subjunctive mood, Perfect tense, Latin conjugation of -eo verbs.