THE FIRST WORD

subjugate

PRONUNCIATION:

(SUHB-juh-gayt) 

MEANING:

verb tr.: To bring under control or to make submissive.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin subjugare (to subjugate), from sub- (under) + jugum (yoke). Ultimately from the Indo-European root yeug- (to join), which is also the ancestor of such words as junction, yoke, yoga, adjust, juxtapose, junta, jugular, and jugulate. Earliest documented use: 1429.

USAGE:

"Even more families lost control of their land, as the Indonesian army divided and relocated communities in its attempt to subjugate the population."
Country Plots; The Economist (London, UK); May 5, 2012.