Licet verbum novum difficile sit, Lucia tamen sensum eius intellegit.

Here licet means although or even though. It introduces a concessive clause: a clause that admits one fact but then contrasts it with what follows.

So the pattern is basically:

Licet ... , tamen ...
= Although ... , nevertheless ...

Do not read licet here as it is permitted; that is a different use of the same word.

Because licet in this meaning normally takes the subjunctive.

• est = present indicative of esse
• sit = present subjunctive of esse

So after licet, Latin says difficile sit, not difficile est.

Even though the Latin uses a subjunctive, English usually translates it simply with is:

Licet ... difficile sit
= Although ... is difficult

In the clause verbum novum difficile sit:

• verbum is the subject
• novum modifies verbum
• difficile is the predicate adjective with sit

So the structure is:

• verbum novum = the new word
• difficile sit = is difficult in a subjunctive clause

In other words, verbum is the thing being described, novum tells you what kind of word it is, and difficile tells you the condition or quality being asserted about it.

Because it agrees with verbum, which is neuter singular.

The adjective is difficilis, difficile. Its neuter singular form is difficile.

So:

• masculine/feminine singular: difficilis
• neuter singular: difficile

Since verbum is neuter, Latin uses difficile.

They are all nominative singular neuter.

• verbum is nominative singular neuter
• novum agrees with verbum
• difficile also agrees with verbum

Even though difficile is a predicate adjective, it still agrees with the subject in gender, number, and case.

Tamen means nevertheless, however, or still.

It highlights the contrast:

• Licet verbum novum difficile sit = even though the new word is difficult
• Lucia tamen sensum eius intellegit = Lucia nevertheless understands its meaning

In English, we might or might not translate tamen explicitly. Latin often likes this kind of balancing pair:

licet ... tamen ...
= although ... nevertheless ...

Because sensum is the direct object of intellegit, so it must be in the accusative case.

The noun is sensus, sensus, a 4th-declension noun.

Its forms include:

• nominative singular: sensus
• accusative singular: sensum

So Lucia sensum eius intellegit means Lucia understands its meaning, with sensum as the thing understood.

Eius means of him, of her, or of it, depending on the context. Here it means of it or more naturally its.

It refers back to verbum:

• verbum = the word
• sensum eius = its meaning

So eius is a genitive singular form showing possession or relation.

Because suus, sua, suum is a reflexive possessive. It normally refers back to the subject of its own clause.

In Lucia tamen sensum eius intellegit, the subject of the clause is Lucia. So suum would naturally point back to Lucia, not to verbum.

But the meaning here is the meaning of the word, not Lucia’s own meaning, so Latin uses eius.

That is a very common distinction:

• suus = one’s own, referring back to the clause’s subject
• eius = his/her/its, referring to someone or something else

Because Latin word order is flexible, and a genitive word like eius often comes after the noun it depends on.

So:

• sensum eius
• literally the meaning of it
• naturally its meaning

English usually puts a possessive before the noun, but Latin often does not.

It has two parts:

1. Licet verbum novum difficile sit
   a concessive subordinate clause

2. Lucia tamen sensum eius intellegit
   the main clause

A very literal outline would be:

• Although the new word may be difficult
• Lucia nevertheless understands its meaning

So the sentence first presents a difficulty, then says that this difficulty does not prevent Lucia from understanding.

Intellegit is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• indicative mood
• active voice

from intellegere, meaning to understand.

Since the subject is Lucia, it means:

Lucia understands

The ending -it tells you it is he/she/it in the present tense.

Because Latin relies much more on word endings than on word order to show grammatical relationships.

For example:

• verbum is the subject because of its form
• sensum is the object because it is accusative
• eius is genitive
• Lucia is nominative

That means Latin can place words in an order that feels more natural for emphasis or style. Here it is very normal for:

• the subordinate clause to come first
• tamen to appear early in the main clause
• the verbs sit and intellegit to come near the ends of their clauses

So the order may feel unusual to an English speaker, but it is perfectly standard Latin.