suborn

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 7, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>suborn</strong> &#149; \suh-BORN\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Suborn</em> 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."</p> <p>// The lawyer attempted to <em>suborn</em> the witness.</p> <p>// The prosecutor was guilty of <em>suborning</em> false testimony. </p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborn">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Because <em>suborning</em> perjury is not a mistake, nor is suppressing evidence. These acts are intentional." — Melinda Henneberger, <em>The Kansas City Star</em>, 13 Nov. 2020</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Suborn</em> is from Latin <em>subornare</em>, which translates literally as "to secretly furnish or equip." The <em>sub-</em> that brings the "secretly" meaning to <em>subornare</em> more commonly means "under" or "below," but it has its stealthy meaning in the etymologies of several other English words, including <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surreptitious">surreptitious</a></em> (from <em>sub-</em> and <em>rapere</em>, meaning "to seize") and the verb <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suspect">suspect</a></em> (from <em>sub-</em> or <em>sus-</em> and <em>specere</em>, meaning "to look at"). The <em>ornare</em> (meaning "to furnish") of <em>subornare</em> is also at work in the words <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornate">ornate</a></em>, <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adorn">adorn</a></em>, and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornament">ornament</a></em>.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>