Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Old French
Origin: soduire 'to lead into bad actions', from Latin subducere 'to remove'; influenced by Latin subdere 'to force to obey'

subdue

 verb
     
sub‧due [transitive]
1 to defeat or control a person or group, especially using force:
Police managed to subdue the angry crowd.
Napoleon subdued much of Europe.
2 formal to prevent your emotions from showing or being too strong [= control]:
an excitement she could not subdue
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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