shimn.1
/ʃɪm/, U.S. /ʃɪm/ 1. A streak of white on a horse's face. dialect.Cf. shimmed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > head > white or dark mark on face
starOE
race?1523
ratch1558
clouda1616
shim1639
range1685
reach1857
1639 T. de Gray Compl. Horseman i. iv. 23 Some commend the shimme, or rase downe the Face.
1688 London Gaz. No. 2459/4 A bright Chesnut Gelding,..a Shim [printed Shein] down his Face.
1705 London Gaz. No. 4131/4 A Ring of white round each Ear, and a Shim down her Face.
1784 J. Cullum Hist. & Antiq. Hawsted in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 23. 173 Shim. Scima, Saxon. Splendor. The white mark in a horse's forehead.
2. A faint or transient appearance; a glimpse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > of some quality > slight
gleam?c1225
glimpsea1547
suspicion1565
umber1573
umbrage1604
umbrationa1706
shima1800
a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Shim, appearance, West. A transient view or first sight.
1853 W. D. Cooper Gloss. Provincialisms Sussex (ed. 2) 73 I can't be sure it was a partridge, but I saw the shim of something going over the hedge.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shimn.2
/ʃɪm/, U.S. /ʃɪm/ I. local.
1. A piece of iron attached to an agricultural implement for scraping the surface of the soil.
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the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > attachment for scraping soil
shim1723
1723 J. Lewis Hist. Isle Tenet 9 The furrows..being either howed with a large how, or cleared of weeds and rubbish by what they call a Shim. This is a flat piece of Iron, fixed at the end of a slight little plough beam drawn by one horse, and so made that it may be raised up or let down, as occasion serves [1736 (ed. 2) 13 reads, A Shim or Brake-plough. This is a Piece of Iron, at the Bottom of two Cheeks with Holes in them, which are put thro' a Frame of Timber drawn with one Horse, and with Iron Pins is let up or down as there is Occasion].
1808 T. Batchelor Gen. View Agric. County of Bedford 178 A shim, or scraper, might be inserted in the harrow-frame, for cutting thistles and other weeds.
2. In full shim-plough: A kind of horse-hoe or shallow plough, used in Kent and elsewhere, for hoeing up weeds between rows of beans, hops, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > mattock, hoe, or hack > hoe > horse-hoe
shim1723
hoe-plough1731
horse-hoe1731
hoe-break1742
nidget1743
hop-shim1807
idget1875
1723 [see sense 1].
c1736 S. Pegge Alphabet of Kenticisms (1876) Shim, an horse-how.
1741 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman May iii. 56 The Sheim or Prong-Plough.
1754 R. Pococke Trav. (Camden) II. 88 [In the Isle of Thanet] They have a particular way of cleaning the ground sown with beans, with a machine call'd a shim, with irons at such a distance, that two go between the rows, and turn up the earth on each side against the beans.
1792 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 3 33 Horse-hoed the intervals with a Berkshire shim, which cuts the surface, but turns no furrow.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 880 In the drill-sown lucern some recommend..the passing of a small shim between them.
1892 Auctioneer's Catal. Farm Sale near Minster, Kent 148 Pop shim, 149 Iron single shim, 150 5 furrow corn shim.
3. A Dutch hoe.
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the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > mattock, hoe, or hack > hoe > Dutch hoe
shim1840
shoveshim1846
Dutch hoe-
1840 C. Howard Farming at Ridgemont 133 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III The Dutch hoe, called in Holderness the ‘shim’.
4. Used by confusion for skim n. 2b.So shim-coulter plough in some dictionaries.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > coulter > skim
skim1799
shim1805
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 470 When the land is of a stiff and lumpy..nature, it may..be necessary to have recourse to shims, in order to break down and separate the particles.
1834 Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. 348 The shim, or skim, has also been affixed as an additional coulter..to a plough much in use in Oxfordshire.
1837 Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) II. 18 The skim-plough—or shim, as it is in some places called.
II. In wider use.
5.
a. A thin slip, usually of metal, used to fill up a space between parts subject to wear, to align or adjust the level of rails, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > packing, stuffing, or filling equipment
pack-sheet1533
packing sheet1545
packer1846
shim1860
parcelling machine1875
stuffer1875
woolpacker1875
filler1895
bagger1896
shimmer-
society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > washer or liner > metal slip adjusting plates
shim1860
liner1869
1860 D. K. Clark & Z. Colburn Recent Pract. Locomotive Engine 62/2 Where no gibs are employed in the cross~head blocks, ‘shims’ or thickness pieces of sheet-tin or copper are interposed under the ends of the guide-bars.
1864 in Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Shim..(Stone-working). One of the plates in a jumper-hole to fill out a portion of the thickness not occupied by the wedges or feathers.
1885 J. A. L. Waddell Syst. Railroad Bridges Japan 56 There are two different floor systems..: in the first of these the lower lateral rods pass through the wooden shims.
1887 J. Rose Key to Engines 101 A Liner, Fit-Strip, Distance-Piece, or Shim..is a strip of metal placed between the joint faces of the brasses to hold them the proper distance apart.
1916 R. T. Nicholson Bk. of Ford viii. 118 Paper ‘shims’—that is, slips of paper shaped to the flats—between cap and socket. These ‘shims’ will prevent your tightening the nuts up too far.
1953 J. Lawrence Questions & Answers on Automobile Transmission & Steering iv. 90 To rectify the pre-load, adjust the shim pack between the outer bearing cone and the pinion shank or spacer.
1977 New Yorker 4 July 33/2 He took out the shims and adjusted them for proper clearance.
b. Criminals' slang (chiefly U.S.). = loid n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > burglary > [noun] > instruments used by burglars > for picking or forcing locks
turnkey1803
loid1958
shim1968
1968 L. O'Donnell Face of Crime i. 12 The lock was of the deadbolt type that doesn't yield to the opportunist's plastic shim.
1973 R. Parkes Guardians i. 8 Had the door fitted flush to the frame, the old perspex shim wouldn't have slipped in.
1977 ‘L. Egan’ Blind Search x. 172 Denny and I went to Nonie's place, and he used a shim to get us in.
Categories »
6. U.S. An imperfect shingle of irregular thickness; also, an imperfect bucket-stave.In recent U.S. dictionaries.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
shimn.3
/ʃɪm/, U.S. /ʃɪm/ A transvestite or transsexual. Also, an effeminate or passive homosexual man.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > man > [noun] > effeminate man
badlingeOE
milksopc1390
cockneyc1405
malkina1425
molla1425
weakling1526
tenderling1541
softling1543
niceling1549
woman-man1567
cocknel1570
effeminate1583
androgyne1587
meacock1590
mammaday1593
hermaphrodite1594
midwife1596
nimfadoro1600
night-sneaker1611
mock-mana1625
nan1670
she-man1675
petit maître1711
old woman1717
master-miss1754
Miss Molly1754
molly1785
squaw1805
mollycoddle1823
Miss Nancy1824
mollycot1826
molly mop1829
poof1833
Margery?c1855
ladyboy1857
girl1862
Mary Ann1868
sissy1879
milk1881
pretty-boy1881
nancy1888
poofter1889
Nancy Dawson1890
softie1895
puff1902
pussy1904
Lizzie1905
nance1910
quean1910
maricon1921
pie-face1922
bitch1923
Jessie1923
lily1923
tapette1923
pansy1926
nancy boy1927
nelly1931
femme1932
ponce1932
queerie1933
palone1934
queenie1935
girlie-man1940
swish1941
puss1942
wonk1945
mother1947
candy-ass1953
twink1953
cream puff1958
pronk1959
swishy1959
limp wrist1960
pansy-ass1963
weeny1963
poofteroo1966
mo1968
shim1973
twinkie1977
woofter1977
cake boy1992
hermaphrodite-
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [noun] > wearing clothes associated with opposite sex > person
berdache1806
hijra1838
she-male1842
female impersonator1857
transvestite1911
Eonist1928
transvestist1928
transvestitist1930
drag queen1941
moffie1960
TV1960
shim1973
cross-dresser1976
tranny1979
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male
badlingeOE
nan1670
molly1708
Miss Molly1754
Miss Nancy1824
molly mop1829
poof1833
Margery?c1855
Mary Ann1868
pretty-boy1881
cocksucker1885
poofter1889
queer1894
fruit1895
fairy1896
homosexualist1898
puff1902
pussy1904
nance1910
quean1910
girl1912
faggot1913
mouser1914
queen1919
fag1921
gay boy1921
maricon1921
pie-face1922
bitch1923
Jessie1923
tapette1923
pansy1926
nancy boy1927
nelly1931
femme1932
ponce1932
punk1933
queerie1933
gobbler1934
jocker1935
queenie1935
iron1936
freak1941
swish1941
flit1942
tonk1943
wonk1945
mother1947
fruitcake1952
Mary1953
twink1953
swishy1959
limp wrist1960
arse bandit1961
leather man1961
booty bandit1962
ginger beer1964
bummer1965
poofteroo1966
shirtlifter1966
battyman1967
dick-sucker1968
mo1968
a friend of Dorothy1972
shim1973
gaylord1976
twinkie1977
woofter1977
bender1986
knob jockey1989
batty boy1992
cake boy1992
1973 Divine in Gay Scene June 6/4 I don't like the word transvestite, it covers too much. I prefere [sic] ‘drag’ or ‘Shim’, which is what my Daddy calls me.
1980 J. Wainwright Kill of Small Consequence xi. 89 He looked a gay type, a typical shim.
1986 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 19 Oct. 72/4 Police at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane have coined a new name for the so-called ladies of the night working in the world's oldest profession. They're called Shims—think about it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1993; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† shimadj.
Obsolete.
Bright. Cf. (Chesh., Shropsh.) shim-white, a clear bright white.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [adjective] > bright
shininga900
lighteOE
lightlyOE
sheenOE
torhtOE
shirea1000
steepa1000
shimmeringc1000
brightOE
strongOE
clear1297
fair?a1300
bright-shininga1387
merrya1393
skirea1400
lucident14..
shimc1400
staringc1400
luculentc1420
splendent1474
illuminousc1485
lucentc1500
bloominga1522
sheer1565
prelucent1568
faculent1575
splendant1578
lucid1591
neat1591
shine1596
translucent1596
well-lighted1606
nitid1615
lucible1623
dilucid1653
translucid1657
hard1660
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1077 Aboute þat water arn tres ful schym, Þat twelue frytez of lyf con bere ful sone.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
† shimv.1
Obsolete.
intransitive. To shine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > light emitted in particular manner > [verb (intransitive)] > sparkle or glitter
twinklec888
shimc950
blika1000
glisec1000
glistenc1000
glista1225
glore13..
sparkc1300
glisterc1380
sparklec1386
spranklea1387
glittera1400
sprinklea1400
blikenc1400
glaster1447
springlec1460
sprangle1495
brandish1552
pink1589
scintillate1623
simper1633
twink1637
spangle1639
scintill1681
scintillize1694
prinkle1724
skinkle1765
winkle1791
coruscate1807
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xvii. 24 Scimande of heofnum, coruscans de sub cælo.
c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) xxiv. 138 Mico, ic scimige [v.r. scine].
a1225 Juliana (Bodl.) 55 Schiminde [Royal MS. schininde] hire nebscheaft schene as þe sunne.
a1225 St. Marher. 19 Wið schimmende ant scharp sweord.
a1225 St. Marher. 44 Hire foster modres schep, þe schimede ant schan.
a1240 Sawles Warde in Old Eng. Hom. I. 257 Al þat hus schineð ant schimmeð [v.r. schimereð] of his leome.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
shimv.2
1.
a. intransitive. To use the shim for hoeing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (intransitive)] > hoe
hoec1430
shim1792
1792 [implied in: Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 3 33 The middle of August, repeated the shimming. (at shimming n. 1)].
1793 Trans. Soc. Arts (ed. 2) 4 62 The last week in April, shimmed over the surface.
b. transitive. To hoe (crops) with a shim.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > break up land [verb (transitive)] > hoe
billc1440
paddle1556
sarculate1623
hoe1712
hack1732
hand-hoe1733
hoe-plough1733
scuffle1766
small-hoe1786
shim1797
horse-hoe1830
nidget1843
first1860
prong-hoe1892
1797 A. Young Gen. View Agric. Suffolk 59 The Kentish method of shimming the stubbles of beans..is unknown in Suffolk.
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln 128 He..shims them with the expanding horse-hoe.
1840 C. Howard Farming at Ridgemont 138 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III When the land is in good order, an able workman will shim nearly six roods a day.
2.
a. ‘To wedge up or fill out to a fair surface by inserting a thin wedge or piece of material’ ( Cent. Dict.). Also const. out. Cf. shimmer n.2 and shimming n. North American.
ΚΠ
1937 H. E. Stafford Troubles of Electr. Equipm. iii. 46 The only permanent way is..by decreasing the air gap by shimming the pole shoes.
1967 E. B. Nickerson Kayaks to Arctic xiv. 126 Each cabin had a single door, well shimmed but still hanging out of plumb.
1974 R. M. Pirsig Zen & Art of Motorcycle Maintenance v. 57 You're going to have to shim those out.
b. Criminals' slang (chiefly U.S.). To open (a lock or door) with a shim. Cf. shim n.2 5b.
ΚΠ
1972 J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) ii. 25 The burglar..would shim doors which isn't too hard to do in any hotel.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.11639
n.21723n.31973
adj.c1400v.1c950v.21792