construo

Latin

Etymology

From con- (“with”) +‎ struō (“pile up, arrange; build, erect”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.stru.oː/, [ˈkõːs̠t̪ruoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkon.stru.o/, [ˈkɔnst̪ruo]

Verb

cōnstruō (present infinitive cōnstruere, perfect active cōnstrūxī, supine cōnstrūctum); third conjugation

1. to heap, bring, collect or gather together

   Synonyms: cōgō, glomerō, compellō, congerō, contrahō, colligō, coniungō, cōnferō, reficiō

2. to construct, build, fabricate, erect

   Synonyms: aedificō, exaedificō, inaedificō, cōnstituō, struō, condō, compōnō, fundō, statuō, exstruō, mōlior

3. (grammar) to connect, construct

Usage notes

In Classical texts, the only passive forms for this verb are the third-person singular and plural.

Conjugation

Conjugation of cōnstruō (third conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cōnstruō	cōnstruis	cōnstruit	cōnstruimus	cōnstruitis	cōnstruunt
	imperfect	cōnstruēbam	cōnstruēbās	cōnstruēbat	cōnstruēbāmus	cōnstruēbātis	cōnstruēbant
	future	cōnstruam	cōnstruēs	cōnstruet	cōnstruēmus	cōnstruētis	cōnstruent
	perfect	cōnstrūxī	cōnstrūxistī	cōnstrūxit	cōnstrūximus	cōnstrūxistis	cōnstrūxērunt, cōnstrūxēre
	pluperfect	cōnstrūxeram	cōnstrūxerās	cōnstrūxerat	cōnstrūxerāmus	cōnstrūxerātis	cōnstrūxerant
	future perfect	cōnstrūxerō	cōnstrūxeris	cōnstrūxerit	cōnstrūxerimus	cōnstrūxeritis	cōnstrūxerint
passive	present	cōnstruor	cōnstrueris, cōnstruere	cōnstruitur	cōnstruimur	cōnstruiminī	cōnstruuntur
	imperfect	cōnstruēbar	cōnstruēbāris, cōnstruēbāre	cōnstruēbātur	cōnstruēbāmur	cōnstruēbāminī	cōnstruēbantur
	future	cōnstruar	cōnstruēris, cōnstruēre	cōnstruētur	cōnstruēmur	cōnstruēminī	cōnstruentur
	perfect	cōnstrūctus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	cōnstrūctus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	cōnstrūctus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	cōnstruam	cōnstruās	cōnstruat	cōnstruāmus	cōnstruātis	cōnstruant
	imperfect	cōnstruerem	cōnstruerēs	cōnstrueret	cōnstruerēmus	cōnstruerētis	cōnstruerent
	perfect	cōnstrūxerim	cōnstrūxerīs	cōnstrūxerit	cōnstrūxerīmus	cōnstrūxerītis	cōnstrūxerint
	pluperfect	cōnstrūxissem	cōnstrūxissēs	cōnstrūxisset	cōnstrūxissēmus	cōnstrūxissētis	cōnstrūxissent
passive	present	cōnstruar	cōnstruāris, cōnstruāre	cōnstruātur	cōnstruāmur	cōnstruāminī	cōnstruantur
	imperfect	cōnstruerer	cōnstruerēris, cōnstruerēre	cōnstruerētur	cōnstruerēmur	cōnstruerēminī	cōnstruerentur
	perfect	cōnstrūctus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	cōnstrūctus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	cōnstrue	—	—	cōnstruite	—
	future	—	cōnstruitō	cōnstruitō	—	cōnstruitōte	cōnstruuntō
passive	present	—	cōnstruere	—	—	cōnstruiminī	—
	future	—	cōnstruitor	cōnstruitor	—	—	cōnstruuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		cōnstruere	cōnstrūxisse	cōnstrūctūrum esse	cōnstruī	cōnstrūctum esse	cōnstrūctum īrī
participles		cōnstruēns	—	cōnstrūctūrus	—	cōnstrūctus	cōnstruendus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		cōnstruendī	cōnstruendō	cōnstruendum	cōnstruendō	cōnstrūctum	cōnstrūctū

Derived terms

• cōnstrūctiō
• cōnstrūctus

Related terms

• dēstruō
• īnstruō
• struō

Descendants

• → Crimean Tatar: konstruirlemek
• → Dutch: construeren
• → English: construct, construe
• Esperanto: konstrui
• French: construire
• Galician: construír
• → German: konstruieren
• Italian: costruire
• Portuguese: construir
• Romanian: construi
• Sicilian: custrujiri
• Spanish: construir

References

• “construo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “construo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• construo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Portuguese

Verb

construo

1. first-person singular present indicative of construir; "I build, I construct"