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.
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 (from sub- and rapere, meaning "to seize") and the verb
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, adorn, and ornament.
