sync forms.

[bingley]

From the Perseus entry for consuesco:<br /><br />cons&#365;esco , su&#275;vi, su&#275;tum, 3 (in the tempp. perff. the sync. forms prevail: consuesti, consuestis, consuerunt; consueram, etc.; consuero, etc.; consuerim, etc.; consuessem, etc.; consuesse. Thus also consu&#275;mus = consuevimus, Prop. 1, 7, 5 ), v. a. and n. <br /><br />Could someone refresh my memory as to what sync. forms might be? I vaguely recall something about the -esc- in verbs ending in -esco sometimes dropping out, but I'm very hazy about the details.

[Skylax]

Syncoped means "cut off in the middle". In consuerunt, a syllable is gone from the middle of the word. Originally, it was consueverunt (= stem consuev- + ending -erunt).<br />The syncope didn't make the form ambiguous. <br /><br />The "first" syncopes were those of the single letter "v" in such forms as audiverunt etc. becoming audierunt. The syncope of the syllable -ve- was made by analogy. You find also amarunt for amaverunt, amasse(nt) for amavisse(nt) etc.<br /><br />A French simple past like "aimèrent" (pron "èmèr") reflects a syncoped Latin form. It is what remains from the amar of amarunt<br />

[bingley]

thank you, scylax