Since the previous posts have discussed how inchoative verbs express how something is becoming something else, it’s appropriate here to talk about an important verb in Latin:
fiō, fieri: become; be
made
Now, this verb is part of a
far wider discussion with regard to Latin verbs, but, for the moment, it’s so
common that you should be able to recognise it:
fīō: I become
fīs: you (sg.) become
fit: he / she / it becomes
fīmus: we become
fītis: you (pl.) become
fīunt: they become
Magister īrātus fit:
the teacher gets / becomes / is made angry.
Antōnius Octāviānusque
inimīcī fīunt: Anthony and Octavian become enemies.
Bacche, bene venies gratus
et optatus, ¦ Bacchus, you will come to us welcome here and wanted
per quem noster animus fit letificatus*.
¦ through whom our spirit is made joyful
*There is a shift in
Mediaeval Latin spelling to reflect pronunciation change: /ae/ in Classical
Latin becomes /e/ in Mediaeval; Classical Latin is laetificatus
Where it occurs a lot is in
the past: factus, -a, -um est i.e. he / she / it became or was made:
Cn. Octāviō, quī prīmus ex
illā familiā cōnsul factus est (Cicero) ¦ (We have heard that)
Gnaeus Octavius—the first of that family who was elected consul…
The image from the Middle
Ages, judging by the lady’s reaction, doesn’t suggest that everybody was keen
on drinking!
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