Translation
to show, display; reveal, make clear
Examples
.
The leader showed the soldiers the road.
ostensum .
A sign was shown in the sky.
.
I want to show what is true.
ostenderunt.
The letter revealed his hatred.
ostendet debeamus.
The matter itself will show what we ought to do.
Ostendo, ostendere, ostendi, ostentum is third conjugation, built from obs plus tendo, "stretch out towards", which is why the supine is ostentum rather than anything with a d. A rival fourth part ostensum is common from late antiquity onwards, and that is the one the Romance and English descendants took: ostensible, ostensory.
It takes a direct object and a dative of the person shown, so alicui aliquid ostendere, "to show something to someone". Watch the difference from ostento, the first conjugation frequentative, which means to show off; ostentatious is the English heir of that one, not of ostendo. In the corpus ostendit is ambiguous between present and perfect, since the third conjugation perfect here has no consonant to give the game away.
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ostendo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "ostendo" (to show, display; reveal, make clear): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 15.