Skip to content
word of the day

The word for today is…

suborn (verb):

1 : to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing
2 : to induce to commit perjury

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : The Latin word that gave us suborn in the early part of the 16th century is 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 denotation 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 of subornare is also at work in the words ornate, adorn, and ornament.

If you enjoyed this BFD word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest

Acres of Skin

Acres of Skin

A young doctor looked at a prison full of men and saw a field to harvest. The cream in your medicine cabinet came out of a prison experiment.

Members Public
How I Fell Out With Julie Burchill

How I Fell Out With Julie Burchill

The Modern Review is coming to Substack with an online archive plus new original content. Read about how the famed ‘low culture’ magazine came crashing down when Julie Burchill plotted a coup with her new lesbian lover.

Members Public