sufficiebamus

sufficiebamus is a Latin verb form from sufficere, meaning "to be sufficient" or "to suffice." The form sufficiebamus is the first person plural imperfect indicative, translating as “we were sufficient” or “we used to be enough.” It appears in classical and medieval Latin texts to describe past adequacy or adequateness of people or objects.

The verb sufficere belongs to the third conjugation and has a regular -ere infinitive. Its principal parts are sufficiō, sufficere, sufficiens, sufficiti. The infinitive sufficere expresses a state of sufficiency, while the past tense forms like sufficiebam (1st sg.) and sufficiebamus (1st pl.) convey previous states. The present active form sufficere means “to suffice,” used in both literal and figurative contexts.

In literature, sufficiebamus often appears in discussions of moral or spiritual sufficiency. For instance, early Christian writers used the term to express the idea that certain virtues were enough for salvation: “nos sufficiebamus virtute.” The word denotes not just quantity but also adequacy in a broader sense, linking physical sufficiency with intellectual or spiritual completeness.

Etymologically, sufficere comes from the Latin root sufficere, formed from suffere (“to endure or bear”) + -ere, implying that something endures adequately. The word is related to the English sufficiency, which derives from the same root. In legal Latin, sufficiebamus could refer to a party’s satisfied claim or a contract’s fulfillment.

Modern usage of sufficiebamus is rare outside of philological contexts. Linguists and classicists often cite the form when analyzing syntax or verb paradigms in Latin texts. Despite its limited contemporary application, the term remains a clear example of Latin verbal morphology and the expressive range of the sufficiency concept in ancient prose.