valebant

Valebant is a Latin verb form, the imperfect indicative active of valeo, valere, meaning “they were well,” “they were strong,” or “they were worth,” depending on context. The verb valeo denotes health, strength, usefulness, or value, and its imperfect forms describe past states or conditions.

Morphology and meaning: The full imperfect active paradigm of valeo is valēbam, valēbas, valēbat, valēbamus, valēbatis, valēbant. In plain text, valebant is the third-person plural form. In Latin, the sense of valere can cover being healthy or being of value; thus valebant may refer to the people’s health, their strength, or the worth of things in past tense.

Usage: In classical Latin, valere is used for physical health or vigor, often in descriptions of people or groups. It can also express value or worth in economic or evaluative contexts, though the valuation sense is commonly expressed with other forms or with additional qualifying words (for example, multo valebat “it was worth a lot”). The imperfect valebant therefore signals a past state: “they were well/strong,” or “they were worth,” as the situation described.

Examples:

- Valebant bene. (They were well / They were in good health.)

- Haec res multo valebant. (These things were worth a lot.)

Notes: Valebant attests to the broader lexical field of valeo and appears in a variety of Latin authors to describe health, strength, or value in the past tense. Its meaning is determined by context and accompanying terms.