# sham Abraham

> English word · Verb · IPA /ʃæm ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/

## Definitions
1. To pretend sickness or insanity.

## Etymology
First use appears c. 1752. From sham + Abraham man (“a beggar who pretends to be ill”)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sham-abraham