- shim (n.)
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- 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.
- shim (v.)
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- "to wedge up a surface by means of a shim," 1877, from shim (n.). Related: Shimmed; shimming.