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Origin and history of sham

sham(n.)

1670s, "a trick put upon one, a hoax, a fraud, something that deludes or disappoints expectation," a word of uncertain origin. Along with the verb ("to cheat, trick") and the adjective ("false, pretended"), the word burst into use about 1677 according to OED. Perhaps they are from sham, a northern dialectal variant of shame (n.); a derivation suggested by 1734 and which OED finds "not impossible."

The main modern sense of "something meant to be mistaken for something else, something meant to give a false outward appearance" is from 1728 (the verb in the related sense is from 1690s); applied to persons by 1850.

The meaning "false front" in pillow-sham (1721) is from the notion of "counterfeit." Related: Shammed; shamming; shammer. Shamateur "amateur sportsman who acts like a professional" is from 1896. A song from 1716 calls the Pretender the Shamster.

also from 1670s

Entries linking to sham

shame(n.)

Old English scamu, sceomu "painful feeling of guilt or disgrace; confusion caused by shame; state of being in disgrace; dishonor, insult, loss of esteem or reputation; shameful circumstance, what brings disgrace; modesty," from Proto-Germanic *skamo (source also of Old Saxon skama, Old Norse skömm, Swedish skam, Old Frisian scome, Dutch schaamte, Old High German scama, German Scham), which is of unknown etymology. The best guess is that this is from PIE *skem-, from *kem- "to cover" (covering oneself being a common expression of shame). 

It is attested by c. 1300 as "modesty, shyness, regard for propriety or decency;" by 1580s as "thing or person to be ashamed of." To put (someone or something) to shame "inflict disgrace or dishonor upon" is mid-13c. Shame culture attested by 1947. The interjection for shame! "you should be ashamed" is by c. 1300.

Also in Middle English "nakedness, private parts, the genitals," as in the Wycliffite Bible's shameful thingis for Latin verecundiora. and shamfast membris for the male genitalia. 

Until modern times English had a productive duplicate form in shand. An Old Norse word for it was kinnroði, literally "cheek-redness," hence, "blush of shame." Greek distinguished shame in the bad sense of "disgrace, dishonor" (aiskhynē) from shame in the good sense of "modesty, bashfulness" (aidos).

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    pretend
    late 14c., pretenden, "to profess, put forward as a statement or assertion, maintain" (a claim, etc.), "to direct (one's) efforts," from Old French pretendre "to lay claim," from Latin praetendere "stretch in front, spread before, put forward; put forward as an excuse, allege," f
    affect
    late 14c., "mental state," from Latin affectus "disposition, mood, state of mind or body produced by some external influence," noun use of adjective affectus "disposed, constituted, inclined," literally "furnished, supplied, endowed," past participle of afficere "to do; treat, us
    dissemble
    early 15c., dissemblen, "assume a false seeming; conceal real facts, motives, intentions, etc.; mask the truth about oneself," from Old French dessembler, from Latin dissimulare "make unlike, conceal, disguise," from dis- "completely" (see dis-) + simulare "to make like, imitate,
    sciamachy
    1620s, "sham-fight for exercise or practice," from Latinized form of Greek skiamakhia "shadow-fighting, a sham fight," from...
    prevaricator
    prevaricatour, "transgressor of the law," a sense now obsolete, from Old French prevaricator and directly from Latin praevaricator "sham...accuser; unfaithful advocate," agent noun from past participle stem of praevaricari "to make a sham accusation, deviate"...
    feint
    as "a pretended blow, movement made to deceive an opponent as to the object of an attack," from French feinte "a feint, sham..., fabrication, pretense," abstract noun from Old French feint "false, deceitful; sham, artificial; weak, faint, lazy, indolent...
    adumbrate
    1580s, "to outline, to sketch," from Latin adumbratus "sketched, shadowed in outline," also "feigned, unreal, sham, fictitious...
    mouth
    Old English muþ "oral opening of an animal or human; opening of anything, door, gate," from Proto-Germanic *muntha- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian muth, Old Norse munnr, Danish mund, Middle Dutch mont, Dutch mond, Old High German mund, German Mund, Gothic munþs "mouth"),
    ringer
     "bell-ringer, one employed to ring church or processional bells," early 15c. (c. 1200 as a surname), agent noun from ring (v.1). An early 13c. text has belle ringestre "nun who rings the convent bell." In quoits (and by extension, horseshoes), "a throw cast so as to encircl
    pretender
    1590s, "one who intends;" 1620s as "one who puts forth a claim;" agent noun from pretend (v.). Specifically of a claimant to the English throne from 1690s, especially the Old and Young Pretenders, the son and grandson of James II who asserted claims to the throne against the Hano

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