satisfacere

Satisfacere is a Latin verb meaning to satisfy, fulfill, or appease. It can also mean to meet a requirement, to satisfy a debt or claim, or to placate someone. The word is formed from satis “enough” and facere “to do,” and it belongs to the third-conjugation -io class of Latin verbs.

In its standard form, satisfacere appears with principal parts satisfacio, satisfacere, satisfeci, satisfactum, which indicate its present-active, present-infinitive, perfect, and supine participial forms. In the present system it yields forms such as satisfacio, satisfacis, satisfacit, satisfacimus, satisfacitis, satisfaciunt. Its tense and mood forms follow the patterns of Latin -io verbs, with corresponding imperfect, future, perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect forms.

Usage and scope: satisfacere is primarily transitive and takes a direct object in the accusative to denote what is being satisfied (for example, a claim, a debt, or a demand). It can also appear in rhetorical or legal contexts where obligations or requests are addressed, and it is often contrasted with the related phrase satis facere, meaning “to do enough,” which expresses sufficiency rather than directly satisfying an object.

See also: satis, facere, satis facere (idiom). For further information, consult Latin dictionaries and grammar on transitive verbs and third-conjugation -io verbs.