laudabant

Laudabant is a Latin verb form from the verb laudare, meaning “to praise.” It is the imperfect indicative active form in the third person plural, usually translated as “they praised” or, in many contexts, “they were praising.”

Form and function: Laudabant is regular for the first conjugation. It is built from the present stem laud- with the imperfect marker -ba- and the third-person plural ending -nt, giving laudabant. The ending -bant marks the third person plural in the imperfect. The imperfect tense conveys past action that was ongoing, repeated, or customary, in contrast to a simple aorist-like past.

Usage and examples: In Latin narrative and description, laudabant appears to set background or describe ongoing praise in the past. Example: Laudabant deum in die festo. Translation: They were praising the god on the festival day. Another example: Senatus et populus leges novas laudabant, showing habitual or ongoing praise in a past context. Laudabant forms like this are common in classical Latin texts and illustrate how the imperfect communicates temporal nuance beyond simple past action.