suborn - a podcast by Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 7, 2021 is: suborn \suh-BORN\ verb
Suborn means "to persuade (someone) to do something illegal (such as to lie in a court of law)." It can also mean "to obtain (false testimony) from a witness by persuasion."

// The lawyer attempted to suborn the witness.

// The prosecutor was guilty of suborning false testimony.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborn)


Examples:

"Because suborning perjury is not a mistake, nor is suppressing evidence. These acts are intentional." — Melinda Henneberger, The Kansas City Star, 13 Nov. 2020

Did you know?

Suborn is from Latin subornare, which translates literally as "to secretly furnish or equip." The sub- that brings the "secretly" meaning to subornare more commonly means "under" or "below," but it has its stealthy meaning in the etymologies of several other English words, including [surreptitious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surreptitious) (from sub- and rapere, meaning "to seize") and the verb [suspect](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspect) (from sub- or sus- and specere, meaning "to look at"). The ornare (meaning "to furnish") of subornare is also at work in the words [ornate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornate), [adorn](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adorn), and [ornament](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornament).

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