suborn
To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.
figuratively, transitive
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; […]
To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner. — To induce (someone, such as a witness) to commit perjury, for example by making a false accusation or giving false evidence.
figuratively, transitive
[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.
To achieve (some result; specifically, perjury) in a corrupt manner.
transitive
[U]pon ſingle Perjuries ſuborned by themſelves they condemned Men unheard, and ſold their Eſtates vvithout ſuffering them to ſpeak for themſelves— […]
To procure or provide (something) secretly and often in a dishonest manner.
archaic, transitive
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; […]
Where it comes from
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
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry suborn (CC BY-SA 4.0).