from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sham \Sham\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shammed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Shamming}.]
1. To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false
pretenses.
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Fooled and shammed into a conviction. --L'Estrange.
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2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition. [R.]
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We must have a care that we do not . . . sham
fallacies upon the world for current reason.
--L'Estrange.
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3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape;
to feign.
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{To sham Abram} or {To sham Abraham}, to feign sickness; to
malinger. Hence a malingerer is called, in sailors' cant,
Sham Abram, or Sham Abraham.
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