suborn
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
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
Inflected forms:
form: suborns
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: suborning
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: subornest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: subornedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: suborns
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: suborneth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: suborn
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: suborning
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: suborned
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
Senses:
gloss: To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
transitive
examples: 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; […]
[H]ee ſuborneth one named Saulus and the ſouldiers of the Ievves to follovv the Gothes hard at the heeles, vvho killing ſome thouſands of them, oportunitie beeing offered, might by that meanes exaſperat at the mindes of the people and mooue them to breake the league.
gloss: To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
specifically
transitive
examples: [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.
By heauen (fond vvretch) yͧ knovvſt not vvhat thou ſpeak'ſt, / Or elſe thou art ſuborn'd againſt his honor / In hatefull practiſe: […]
Thou that bribeſt a corrupt Officer, ſuborneſt a perjured vvitneſs, procureſt a packt Jury, […] couldſt thou be patient thy ſelf to be vvreſted out of thy ovvn apparent right by ſuch engines?
[I]n the heat of their quarrel there came in a witness suborned by some of Mariamne's enemies, who accused her to the king [Herod the Great] of a design to poison him.
[A]n attempt to suborn a person to commit perjury, upon a reference to the judges, was unanimously holden by them to be a misdemeanor.
Boethius, again, says that the Gothic courtiers hated him, and suborned branded scoundrels to swear away his life and that of the senate, because he had opposed 'the hounds of the palace,' Amigast, Trigulla, and other greedy barbarians.
gloss: To achieve (some result; specifically, perjury) in a corrupt manner.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: [U]pon ſingle Perjuries ſuborned by themſelves they condemned Men unheard, and ſold their Eſtates vvithout ſuffering them to ſpeak for themſelves— […]
[F]or my part, I vvould as ſoon ſuborn an Evidence at an Aſſize, as a Vote at an Election.
gloss: To procure or provide (something) secretly and often in a dishonest manner.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: 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; […]
Firm we ſubſiſt, yet poſſible to ſwerve, / Since Reaſon not impoſſibly may meet / Some ſpecious object by the Foe ſubornd, […]
Behold of ev'ry age; ripe manhood ſee, / Decrepit years, and helpleſs infancy: / Thoſe who, by lingring ſickneſs, loſe their breath; / And thoſe vvho, by deſpair, ſuborn their death: […]
Be ready at my Call, my choſen fevv / VVith arms adminiſter'd ſhall aid thy Crevv. / Then entring unexpected vvill vve ſeize / Our deſtin'd Prey, from Men diſſolv'd in eaſe; / By VVine diſabled, unprepar'd for Fight; / And haſt'ning to the Seas ſuborn our Flight: […]
From this curſt hour, the fraudful dame / Of ſacred Truth uſurps the name, / And, vvith a vile, perfidious mind, / Roams far and near, to chat mankind; / Falſe ſighs ſuborns, and artful tears, / And ſtarts vvith vain pretended fears; […]
The informer Diocleides was hailed as savior of the city, crowned with a wreath, and taken in honor to the Prytaneum where he dined at public expense. In their excitement and gratitude the Athenians noted neither his attempt to suborn a bribe nor his delay in seeking public safety.
gloss: To make use of (something), especially for corrupt or dishonest reasons.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: 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.
gloss: To aid, assist, or support (something).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: 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, […]
gloss: To furnish or provide (something).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: And ſurely if the purpoſe be in good earneſt not to vvrite at leaſure that vvhich mẽ [men] may read at leaſure, but really to inſtruct and ſuborne Action and actiue life, theſe Georgickes of the mind concerning the huſbãdry & tillage thereof, are no leſſe vvorthy thẽ the heroical deſcriptiõs of vertue, duty, & felicity vvherfore the maine & primitiue diuiſion of Morall knovvledge ſeemeth to be into the Exemplar or Platforme of Good, and the Regiment or Culture of the mind; […]
gloss: To substitute (a thing) for something else, especially secretly and often in a dishonest manner.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: I wiſh unto thee all ſuperabundant increaſe of the ſingular gifts of abſurditie and vaine glory: […] in ſupplanting and ſetting aſide the true children of the Engliſh, and ſuborning inkehorne changlings in their ſteade; […]
Related words: adorn
ornament
ornate
subornate
subornate
subornation
Derived words: subornable
subornative
suborned
subornee
suborner
suborning
unsuborned
Translations:
lang: Finnish
word: yllyttää
lang: Finnish
word: houkuttaa
lang: Macedonian
word: по́дбуцне
roman: pódbucne
lang: Macedonian
word: по́ттикне
roman: póttikne
lang: Macedonian
word: преди́звика
roman: predízvika