shim
[shim]
- a thin slip or wedge of metal, wood, etc., for driving into crevices, as between machine parts to compensate for wear, or beneath bedplates, large stones, etc., to level them.
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- to fill out or bring to a level by inserting a shim or shims.
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Origin of shim
First recorded in 1715–25; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
shim
- a thin packing strip or washer often used with a number of similar washers or strips to adjust a clearance for gears, etc
- physics a thin strip of magnetic material, such as soft iron, used to adjust a magnetic field
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- (tr) to modify a load, clearance, or magnetic field by the use of shims
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Word Origin
C18: origin unknown
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for shimming
shim
n.
1723, a Kentish word of unknown origin. Originally a piece of iron fitted to a plow for scraping soil; meaning "thin slip of wood to fill up a space or raise a level" is from 1860.
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shim
v.
"to wedge up a surface by means of a shim," 1877, from shim (n.). Related: Shimmed; shimming.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper