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Sham
Definitions
- 1 Intended to deceive; false.
"It was only a sham wedding: they didn't care much for one another, but wanted their parents to stop hassling them."
- 2 Counterfeit; unreal.
"For this young lady was not able to carry out any emotion to the full; but had a sham enthusiasm, a sham hatred, a sham love, a sham taste, a sham grief, each of which flared and shone very vehemently for an instant, but subsided and gave place to the next sham emotion."
- 1 adopted in order to deceive wordnet
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine. countable, uncountable
"The time-share deal was a sham."
- 2 Clipping of champagne. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, slang, uncountable
"So I orders a bottle, as if for myself; and, ‘Ma’am, says I, ‘will you take a glass of Sham—just one?’"
- 3 something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be wordnet
- 4 Trickery, hoaxing. countable, uncountable
"A con-man must be skilled in the arts of sham and deceit."
- 5 a person who makes deceitful pretenses wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A false front, or removable ornamental covering. countable, uncountable
- 7 A decorative cover for a pillow. countable, uncountable
- 1 To deceive, cheat, lie.
"they find themſelves Fool'd and Shamm'd (as we ſay) into a Conviction."
- 2 make believe with the intent to deceive wordnet
- 3 To obtrude by fraud or imposition.
"But we muſt have a care all this while, not to […] Sham Fallacyes upon the World for Current Reaſon"
- 4 make a pretence of wordnet
- 5 To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
Etymology
Probably a dialectal form of shame. Alternatively, sham is a term that is used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it is almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
Probably a dialectal form of shame. Alternatively, sham is a term that is used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it is almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
Probably a dialectal form of shame. Alternatively, sham is a term that is used to describe the bottom thick base of a glass, usually a wine or stem glass, where the stem meets the bulbous shape bowl. Glass manufacturers would increase the "sham" to deceive customers into thinking a glass holds more than it actually does. For example, a manufacturer would mold a 12oz glass with a larger "sham" in the base to reduce the volume of the glasses to fit 10-11oz of liquid. By increasing the bulge in the base, usually where the stem meets the glass, it is almost impossible to visually distinguish the difference. This gives the illusion the glass size is the same as any another 12oz glass, but the inside will hold a lesser volume. Later, bringing use to the term "you got shammed" when one party tries to hide something and/or get over on the other party using deceiving tactics.
It could be from Arabic شَام (šām, literally “Syria”), from which it spread also to Gujarat. Perhaps also an altered spelling of French Cham.
See also for "sham"
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