suborn

/səˈbɔːn/

Etymology

PIE word *upó Borrowed from Anglo-Norman suburner, subhorner, and Middle French suborner, subourner (“to induce (someone) to commit a crime (specifically perjury) or wrongdoing”) (modern French suborner (“to suborn; to bribe”)), and from its etymon Latin subōrnāre, the present active infinitive of subōrnō (“to incite, instigate, suborn; to instruct one for a secret purpose; to adorn, dress; to equip, furnish, provide; to make one appear as (something)”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under’) + ōrnō (“to equip, furnish, provide; to adorn, decorate, ornament”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to put together, fit; to fix; to slot”)). Cognates * Catalan subornar * Italian subornare * Old Occitan subornar, sobornar * Portuguese subornar * Spanish subornar (obsolete), sobornar

Why this word is great

SUBORN — [Verb] To induce someone to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially through bribery or corruption. From Latin subōrnāre ("to instigate secretly, equip"), from sub- ("under") + ōrnāre ("to equip, adorn"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ("to fit, fix"). Unlike "bribe" (which broadly oils the wheels of influence) or "incite" (which provokes action openly), "suborn" is the quiet art of equipping another with the tools of their own corruption. It is the whispered suggestion in the witness’s ear, the envelope slid across the table to the clerk who falsifies records, the lawyer’s careful coaching of a lie—each act a small, precise betrayal, as if morality were merely a matter of adjusting the mechanism.

verb

  1. To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.“Till thou to ſpit the venome of thy ſpite, / Subornedſt Cupid how he ſoone might ſlay me, / Abandoning his bowe and arrowes quite, / You laid his priuie complot to betray me; […]”
  2. To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.; To induce (someone, such as a witness) to commit perjury, for example by making a false accusation or giving false evidence.“[Y]ou shall finde their tongues chayned to another mans trencher, and as it were, Knights of the Post, suborned to say, sweare and stare the uttermost they can, as those that passe not what they say, nor with what face they say it, so they say no truth.”
  3. To achieve (some result; specifically, perjury) in a corrupt manner.“[U]pon ſingle Perjuries ſuborned by themſelves they condemned Men unheard, and ſold their Eſtates vvithout ſuffering them to ſpeak for themſelves— […]”
  4. To procure or provide (something) secretly and often in a dishonest manner.“In a golden bowl / She then suborn'd a potion, in her soul / Deform'd things thinking; for amidst the wine / She mix'd her man-transforming medicine; […]”
  5. To make use of (something), especially for corrupt or dishonest reasons.“Nor is he onely content to ſuborne Divine Juſtice in his cenſure of vvhat is paſt, but he aſſumes the perſon of Chriſt himſelf to prognoſticate over us vvhat he vviſhes vvould come.”
  6. To aid, assist, or support (something).“And fell much wood, that all night we may keep / Plenty of fires, even till the light bring forth the lovely morn; / And let their brightness glaze the skies, that night may not suborn / The Greeks' escape, […]”