Translation
to become; to be made; to happen
Examples
?
What is happening?
.
This cannot be done.
Dives .
He became rich.
Fiat .
Let there be light.
doctus .
Nobody becomes learned all at once.
is listed here as its own lemma, and it is treated that way in every dictionary, but the honest description is that it SUPPLIES THE PASSIVE OF . has no passive of its own in the present system, so where you want "is made, is being done", Latin uses ; and where you want the perfect, "was made, has become", it uses , the perfect passive of . One meaning, two stems, and that split is genuinely confusing until somebody says it plainly.
The forms are odd in the other direction too. , , fit, , , look active, but the infinitive is , which looks passive, and the imperfect is fiebam. The subjunctive fiat gives fiat and fiat . Alongside the passive job it works as an ordinary intransitive verb, "to become" with a complement (dives ) and "to happen" on its own ( fit?). Note that only the simple verb behaves like this: the compounds of form a normal passive, so it is conficitur, not a form.
Where this fits
Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueLatin · Free printables
fio: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "fio" (to become; to be made; to happen): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 4.