This is the 11197th most frequent Catalan word.
temien
"Temien" is not a Catalan word; it could be a conjugation of "temer" (to fear) in Spanish.
Here, 'temien' is used as the third person plural form of the imperfect tense of the verb 'temer', indicating a past habitual action of fearing.
Els grans navegants del passat temien les forces del mar.
The great sailors of the past feared the forces of the sea.
In this sentence, 'temien' expresses the feeling of fear or worry about an undesired or uncertain outcome in the past.
Temien no arribar a temps a la reunió després d'haver perdut el tren.
They feared not arriving on time to the meeting after missing the train.
'Temien' here conveys an ongoing sense of fear experienced by the children while listening to the stories during a past timeframe.