Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges, chapter 156

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[*] 156. The Active and Passive Voices in Latin generally correspond to the active and passive in English; but—

[*] a. The passive voice often has a reflexive meaning:—

ferrō accingor, I gird myself with my sword.
Turnus vertitur, Turnus turns (himself).
induitur vestem, he puts on his (own) clothes.

[*] Note.--This use corresponds very nearly to the Greek Middle voice, and is doubtless a survival of the original meaning of the passive (p. 76, footnote 2).

[*] b. Many verbs are passive in form, but active or reflexive in meaning. These are called Deponents (§ 190):¹ as, hortor, I exhort; sequor, I follow.

[*] c. Some verbs with active meaning have the passive form in the perfect tenses; these are called Semi-Deponents: as, audeō , audēre , ausus sum, dare.

1 That is, verbs which have laid aside ( dēpōnere ) the passive meaning.

Ginn and Company, 1903.

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