Suborn
/səˈbɔːrn/noun
To induce someone to commit a wrongful or unlawful act, especially by persuasion or bribery.
Did you know?Suborn comes from Latin *subornare*, a compound of *sub-* (“under, secretly”) + *ornare* (“to equip, furnish, deck out”), so its oldest sense was not about bribes at all but about secretly preparing or supplying someone for action.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
subornare
“to secretly equip, prepare, or furnish; later, to prompt or induce wrongdoing”
Late Latin
Latin
subornatus
“secretly prepared or instigated”
Old French
Old French
suborner
“to incite, prompt, or bribe into wrongdoing”
14th–15th Century
Middle English
subornen
“to procure someone to do wrong, especially by bribery or persuasion”
Modern English
English
suborn
“to induce someone to commit a wrongful or unlawful act”
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