modificavit

Modificavit is a Latin verb form meaning “he modified” or “has modified.” It is the third-person singular perfect active indicative of the verb modificare, a first-conjugation verb meaning to modify, alter, or change. In Latin, the perfect tense typically marks a completed action, so modificavit can translate as a simple past or as a present perfect depending on context.

Etymology and form: The root is from modi- (manner, form, measure) combined with the suffix -ficare, from facere (to make). The resulting sense is to make into a new form or manner—i.e., to modify. The standard principal parts for modificare are modifico (I modify), modificare (to modify), modificavi (I modified), modificatum (modified).

Usage: In Latin texts, modificavit appears in legal, historical, literary, and administrative contexts to report an alteration of a text, decree, rule, or object. Examples include Senatus decretum modificavit (The senate modified the decree) or Poeta textum modificavit (The poet modified the text). The construction is common across classical and medieval Latin, with the surrounding verbal context clarifying whether the action is executed in the past or within a narrative present perfect sense.

Related forms: The noun form is modificatio (modification). The participle is modificatus (having been modified). The infinitive is modificare. Other persons and tenses derive from these roots in standard Latin conjugations.

See also: Modificare, modification, linguistic alteration.