▪ I. † subdue, n. Obs.
Also 5 subdeue.
[f. next.]
Subdual, subjugation, conquest.
| c 1465 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 5 Wherefor, prince.., Remembere þe Subdeue of þi Regaly, Of Englonde, frawnce, & spayn trewely. 1482 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 223/1 In defens of this youre seid Reame, and subdue of youre Enemyes. a 1592 Greene & Lodge Looking Glasse (1598) A 4 b, The worlds subdue. |
▪ II. subdue, v.
(səbˈdjuː)
Forms: α. 4 so-, sudewe, so-, suduwe, sodeuwe. β. 5 subd(e)we, 5–6 -dew, 5–6 -dieu, 6 -deu, 5– subdue.
[Of difficult etymology. ME. sodewe, subdewe, -due, represents formally AF. *soduer, *su(b)duer = OF. so(u)duire, su(d)duire, etc. (used with the meanings of L. sēdūcĕre) to deceive, seduce = OIt. soddurre:—L. subdūcĕre to draw up or away, withdraw, remove by stealth, purge, evacuate, calculate (see subduce, subduct). Neither L. subdūcĕre nor OF. souduire is recorded in the sense of ‘subdue’, so that it is to be presumed that the AF. form took over the sense from L. subdĕre, the pa. pple. of which is represented in Eng. by subdit from c 1375.
There is no clear connexion in form or sense with the AF. subduz of Edw. III stat. ii. c. 17, ann. 1353; the meaning is app. ‘attached’ or ‘arrested’, not ‘subdued’. The 15th c. AF. subduer (Littleton Inst., ed. 1516, A vij b) was prob. modelled on the current Eng. form.]
1. a. trans. To conquer (an army, an enemy, a country or its inhabitants) in fight and bring them into subjection.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 19 [He] wente and sodewed Siria. Ibid. 443 Þanne he stood wiþ [MS. β suduweþ, MS. γ sodeuweþ] the peple þat woneþ at þe foot of þe hille mont Caucasus. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1651 Fooles..Wenyng to subdew, with her oon hande, That ys ouer mekyll for all an hoole lande. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xvi. (1885) 150 Is hyghnes shalbe myghty, and off poiar to subdue his ennemyes. 1486 in Surtees Misc. (1890) 54, I subdewid Fraunce. 1535 Coverdale Zech. ix. 15 They shall consume and deuoure, and subdue them with slynge stones. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 21 How the Portugales subdued Malaccha, shalbe said hereafter. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 82 Iohn of Gaunt, Which did subdue the greatest part of Spaine. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars 14 Since God hath given us Victory, and the glory of subduing a City. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 687 To overcome in Battel, and subdue Nations. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlvii. IV. 582 The Samaritans were finally subdued by the regular forces of the East: twenty thousand were slain. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. India I. 397 They even assert that the same kings subdued Tibet on the east, and Cambója..on the west. 1879 Froude Cæsar xix. 330 He [sc. Cæsar] wished to hand over his conquests to his successor not only subdued but reconciled to subjection. |
† b. Const. to, unto, under the conqueror or his rule. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. vi. xix. (Tollem. MS.), Whan y hadde sudewed all þe worlde to my lordschipe. c 1420 ? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 584 Owre gret rebell May we then soone euer to vs subdew. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. ii. (1885) 111 Whan Nembroth..made and incorperate the first realme, and subdued it to hymself bi tyrannye. 1549 Compl. Scot. xi. 90 Ȝour ald enemes hes intendit to..subdieu ȝou to there dominione. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. x. 13 Thus Brute this Realme vnto his rule subdewd. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xvii. 88 When a man..by Warre subdueth his enemies to his will. |
† c. To overcome or overpower (a person) by physical strength or violence. Obs.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iv. 51 Rest a while Till morrow next, that I the Elfe subdew. Ibid. ii. v. 26 Full many doughtie knights he..Had..subdewde in equall frayes. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 173 As one that graspt And tugg'd for Life, and was by strength subdude. 1604 ― Oth. i. ii. 81 If he do resist Subdue him, at his perill. |
d. transf. and fig.
| 1611 Bible Dan. ii. 40 Forasmuch as yron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 228 Burrs and Brambles..th' unhappy Field subdue. Ibid. iv. 247 Subdu'd in Fire the stubborn Mettal lyes. 1799 Cowper Castaway 47 By toil subdued, he drank The stifling wave. 1883 R. Bridges Prometheus 761 The broad ways That bridge the rivers and subdue the mountains. |
† e. To reduce to order or obedience. Obs.
| 1481 Cov. Leet Bk. 493 To subdue such personez as here late offended; diuerse of which personez be nowe late indyted of ryott & trasspas [etc.]. |
2. a. To bring (a person) into mental, moral, or spiritual subjection; to get the upper hand of by intimidation, persuasion, etc.; to obtain control of the conduct, life, or thoughts of; to render (a person or animal) submissive; to prevail over, get the better of. Const. to (that which exercises control, the control exercised).
| 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiv. xii, He [sc. Cupid] is aduenturous To subdue mine enemies, to me contrarious. 1535 Coverdale Wisd. xviii. 22 He ouercame not the multitude with bodely power..but with the worde he subdued him that vexed him. 1538 Starkey England i. i. 12 Ther ys no best so strong..but to man by wysdom he ys subduyd. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 48 Thai ar nocht subdewit to the rychteousness. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 405 The Prynces..by a certen feare and terrour subdued. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 187 His [Love's] disgrace is to be called Boy, but his glorie is to subdue men. 1610 ― Temp. i. ii. 489 This mans threats, To whom I am subdude, are but light to me. a 1721 Prior Dial. Dead (1907) 219 Swords Conquer some, but Words subdue all men. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. iv. 156 Pigot, with a hardihood which subdued them,..declared that..he would furnish no money. 1833 H. Martineau Brooke Farm vi. 80 This recollection awakened others which subdued me completely. 1853 Newman Hist. Sk. (1876) I. i. i. 31 He was subdued by the influence of religion. 1855 Tennyson Brook 113 Claspt hands and that petitionary grace Of sweet seventeen subdued me ere she spoke. |
| absol. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 266 God has form'd thee with a wiser view, Not to be led in chains, but to subdue. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. ii, And so..did this [growth] of Royalty..spring up; and grow mysteriously, subduing and assimilating. |
| refl. 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. i. 37 The catall, quhilkis favorit langeyr The beist ourcummyn as thar cheif and heyr, Now thame subdewis vndir his ward in hy Quhilk has the ovirhand. 1833 Tennyson Dream Fair Women lix, It comforts me in this one thought to dwell, That I subdued me to my father's will. 1870 Dickens E. Drood ii, I must subdue myself to my vocation. |
b. With a person's body, soul, mind, actions, etc. as obj.
| c 1520 Nisbet N.T., Rom. ii. 15 marg., The fleische nother is nor cann be subdewit tharto. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 148 b, We must..subdue all our inordynate thoughtes. 1548 Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI c. 19 §1 Due and godlye abstynence ys a meane..to subdue mens Bodies to their Soule and Spirite. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 109 My heart and hands thou hast at once subdu'd. 1603 ― Meas. for M. iv. ii. 84 He doth with holie abstinence subdue That in himselfe, which he spurres on his powre To qualifie in others. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 584 If aught..were worthy to subdue The Soule of Man. 1769 Junius Lett. xxxv. 167 Before you subdue their hearts, you must gain a noble victory over your own. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, Having subdued his own feelings, he resolved not to yield to those of his wife. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam Ded. xi, A prophecy Is whispered, to subdue my fondest fears. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 469 Those emotions were soon subdued by a stronger feeling. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola xx, She herself wished to subdue certain importunate memories. |
c. transf.
| c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. xiv. 73 It miȝte seme that God wolde not subdewe or submitte..and sende him [sc. Holy Scripture] to resoun, for to be interpretid. 1535 Coverdale Phil. iii. 21 Acordinge to y⊇ workynge wherby he is able to subdue all thinges vnto himselfe. 1781 Cowper Retirem. 416 Wild without art, or artfully subdu'd, Nature in ev'ry form inspires delight. |
† d. To achieve, attain (a purpose). Obs. rare.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 9 Perhaps my succour..Mote stead you much your purpose to subdew. |
† e. To bring to a low state, reduce. Obs.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 72 Nothing could haue subdu'd Nature To such a lownesse, but his vnkind Daughters. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. iv. xiv. 74 His face subdu'de To penetratiue shame. |
f. In phr. to be subdued to what one works in: to become reduced in capacity to the standard of one's material (in allusion to Shakes. Sonnets cxi.).
| 1907 W. Raleigh Shakespeare iv. 107 Shakespeare accepted the facts, and subdued his hand to what it worked in. 1912 L. Strachey Landmarks in French Lit. iv. 92 Their [sc. the Elizabethans'] work has vanished from the stage, and is today familiar to but a few of the lovers of English literature. Shakespeare alone was not subdued to what he worked in. 1926 G. M. Trevelyan Hist. Eng. v. iii. 559 When a man, in defending his country from foreign conquest, has to rely on certain forces, he ceases to be capable of criticizing them. He becomes subdued to the material in which he works. |
3. To bring (land) under cultivation.
| 1535 Coverdale Gen. i. 28 Growe, and multiplie, and fyll the earth, and subdue it. 1628 May Virg. Georg. i. 6 Nor is't unwholesome to subdue the Land By often exercise. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative 63 To engross more Land into their hands then they were able to subdue. 1794 S. Williams Vermont 307 Their lands, which they had..subdued by extreme labour. 1829 B. Hall Trav. N. Amer. I. 86 In proportion as the soil is brought into cultivation, or subdued, to use the local phrase. 1867 Ruskin Time & Tide xxv. §176 Set..to subduing wild and unhealthy land. |
4. In medical use: To reduce, allay. ? Obs.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 134 The iuyce of Cedars; which by the extreme..siccatiue faculty..subdued the cause of interior corruption. 1732 Arbuthnot Rules of Diet in Aliments etc. (1736) 262 Cresses, Radishes, Horse-Radishes,..subdue Acidity. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 176 The inflammation of the brain was now subdued. 1809 Med. Jrnl. XXI. 52 Although the hysteric affections were still very troublesome, she could now completely subdue them by the use of pills. 1829 Cooper Good's Study Med. II. 515 The inflammation is to be subdued by blood-letting. |
5. To reduce the intensity, force, or vividness of (sound, colour, light); to make less prominent or salient. (Cf. subdued 2.)
| 1800 Ht. Lee Canterb. T. (ed. 2) III. 139 A circular pavilion..Where both light and heat were subdued by shades. 1815 Shelley Alastor 165 With voice stifled in tremulous sobs Subdued by its own pathos. 1843 Ruskin Mod. Paint. (1851) I. ii. i. vii. §21 The warm colours of distance, even the most glowing, are subdued by the air. 1845 Antiq. & Archit. Year Bk. 319 Unable to subdue properly the red, blue, and gold of the niched hood mould. 1856 Kane Arctic Expl. I. ix. 102 Distance is very deceptive upon the ice, subduing its salient features. |