vulnero

Vulnero is a Latin verb meaning to wound or injure. In classical Latin, it is a first-conjugation verb whose present active indicative first-person singular form is vulnero, meaning “I wound.” The infinitive is vulnerare, and the perfect active is vulneravi, “I wounded,” with participial forms such as vulneratus, “wounded.”

Etymology and forms derive from the noun vulnus, meaning “a wound,” with vulner- as the verb stem. From this root, Latin develops a full paradigm including vulneras, vulnerat, vulneramus, vulneratis, vulnerant in the present system, and imperfect, future, and perfect tenses in their respective forms.

Usage and meaning: Vulnero takes a direct object in the accusative, e.g., Hostem vulnero, “I wound the enemy.” The passive voice yields vulneror, “I am wounded,” and vulnerable constructions such as me vulnerant mean “they wound me.” In classical texts, the sense can be literal or figurative, describing physical injury or metaphorical harm.

Modern context: Today, vulnero appears mainly in Latin-language instruction and scholarship, with its derivatives informing English vocabulary. The root vulner- appears in words such as vulnerable, vulnerability, and vulnerability-related terms, which trace back to Latin vulnerabilis, meaning capable of being wounded. The noun vulnus remains the standard term for a wound in Latin medical and literary usage.

See also: vulnus, vulnerare, vulnero, vulnerable, vulnerability.