suborn
Meaning
To induce someone to commit an unlawful or wrongful act, especially by bribery or other improper means.
To induce someone to give false testimony or commit perjury.
Structure
Usage
The corrupt official attempted to suborn a witness to change his testimony.
He was charged with conspiracy to suborn perjury during the investigation.
Laws exist to punish those who suborn employees into committing fraud.
Etymology
The word 'suborn' entered English in the mid-16th century from Latin subornāre, meaning "to furnish secretly, to instigate." This Latin verb is a compound of sub-, implying secrecy or a secondary role, and ornāre, meaning "to equip or prepare." The core semantic logic is one of secretly equipping or preparing someone to act, specifically for a corrupt purpose. Over time, this literal sense of secret preparation narrowed in legal and general English to focus almost exclusively on the corrupt inducement to commit a crime, especially perjury. Thus, the modern abstract meaning of inducing unlawful acts evolved from the ancient concept of furnishing someone covertly for a task.
Analysis
- sub: A Latin prefix meaning "under, below, secretly, or in place of." - orn: From Latin ornāre, meaning "to equip, furnish, or adorn."