Sham, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shammed p. pr. & vb. n. Shamming.]
1. To trick; to cheat; to deceive or delude with false pretenses.
Fooled and shammed into a conviction. --L'Estrange.
2. To obtrude by fraud or imposition. [R.]
We must have a care that we do not . . . sham fallacies upon the world for current reason. --L'Estrange.
3. To assume the manner and character of; to imitate; to ape; to feign.
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.