verbthird conjugation, no passive, no perfect or supine stems
hebēscō
hebēscō (present infinitive hebēscere)
Meaning
- to become blunt or dull
- figurativelyto become blunt, dull, dim, faint, ineffective
At nōs vīcēsimum iam diem patimur hebēscere aciem hōrum auctōritātis.
But for twenty days now we have allowed the keen edge of these [mens’] authority to be dulled. (The metaphor: senatorial authority is the leading edge of a weapon.)63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.4
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
aciem perdōhebēscō -ere — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 15
Conjugation conjugation 3 perfect
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | hebēscō | hebēscēbam | hebēscam | — | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | hebēscis | hebēscēbās | hebēscēs | — | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | hebēscit | hebēscēbat | hebēscet | — | — | — |
| 1st pl. | hebēscimus | hebēscēbāmus | hebēscēmus | — | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | hebēscitis | hebēscēbātis | hebēscētis | — | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | hebēscunt | hebēscēbant | hebēscent | — | — | — |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | hebēscam | hebēscerem | — | — |
| 2nd sg. | hebēscās | hebēscerēs | — | — |
| 3rd sg. | hebēscat | hebēsceret | — | — |
| 1st pl. | hebēscāmus | hebēscerēmus | — | — |
| 2nd pl. | hebēscātis | hebēscerētis | — | — |
| 3rd pl. | hebēscant | hebēscerent | — | — |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | hebēsce | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | hebēscite | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | hebēscitō | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | hebēscitō | — |
| fut. 2nd pl. | hebēscitōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | hebēscuntō | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | hebēscere | — |
| perfect infinitive | hebēscisse | — |
| present participle | hebēscēns | — |
gerundhebēscendī, hebēscendō, hebēscendum
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- (in) otio languere et hebescere
- to grow slack with inactivity, stagnate.
hĕbesco, ĕre,
I. v. inch. n. [hebeo], to grow blunt, dull, dim, or faint (rare but class.).
I. Lit.:
acumina (gladiorum) densis ictibus hebescebant, Amm. 16, 12, 54: hebescunt sensus, membra torpent, Plin. 7, 50, 51, § 168: hebescebant (oculi), Suet. Tib. 68: berylli hebescunt, Plin. 37, 5, 20, § 76: hebescere sidera, Tac. A. 1, 30: hebescere dextras, Sil. 8, 19.—II. Trop.:
sic mentis acies se ipsam intuens nonnumquam hebescit, Cic. Tusc. 1, 30, 73; cf.: nos vicesimum jam diem patimur hebescere aciem horum auctoritatis, id. Cat. 1, 2, 4: nosmetipsos hebescere et languere nolumus, id. Ac. 2, 2, 6; cf.: illi per fastidium et contumaciam hebescunt, Tac. H. 2, 77: hebescere virtus, paupertas probro haberi coepit, Sall. C. 12, 1.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
hebēscō —, —, ere, inch.
hebeo, to grow blunt, become dull, lose vigor, faint : mentis acies hebescit: hebescere sidera, Ta.: hebescere et languere nolumus: hebescere virtus, regard for character declined , S.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti Proto-Italic *-skō Latin -scō Latin hebēscō From hebeō (“to be blunt, dull”) + -scō.