SHAM

I. noun Etymology: perhaps from English dialect ~ ~e, alteration of English ~e Date: 1677 a trick that deludes ; hoax , cheap falseness ; hypocrisy , an ornamental covering for a pillow, an imitation or counterfeit purporting to be genuine, a person who ~s, see: imposture II. adjective Date: 1681 not genuine ; false , feigned , having such poor quality as to seem false, III. verb (~med; ~ming) Date: 1739 transitive verb to go through the external motions necessary to counterfeit, intransitive verb to act intentionally so as to give a false impression ; feign , see: assume ~mer noun