scam
See also: skam
English
Etymology
US carnival slang of uncertain origin. Possibly from scamp (“swindler, cheater”) or Irish cam (“crooked”). Also possibly from Danish skam; if so, it would be a doublet of shame and sham.
The word "scam" became common use among the US "drug culture" in early 1980 after Operation ABSCAM, an FBI sting operation directed at public officials, became public.
Pronunciation
- enPR: skăm, IPA(key): /skæm/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
- Rhymes: -æm
Noun
scam (plural scams)
- A fraudulent deal.
- That marketing scheme looks like a scam to me.
- Something that is promoted using scams.
- That new diet burger is a scam.
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations
fraudulent deal
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Verb
scam (third-person singular simple present scams, present participle scamming, simple past and past participle scammed)
- (transitive) To defraud or embezzle.
- They tried to scam her out of her savings.
Synonyms
Translations
to defraud or embezzle
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Middle Irish
Etymology
Attested only in the plural form scaim. From Proto-Celtic *skamos. Cognate with Welsh ysgafn ("light") and Welsh ysgyfaint ("(pair of) lungs"), Breton skañv, Cornish skav.
References
- Matasović, R. (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, p.339. Brill: Boston.
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