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shill

(shĭl) Slang

1. One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.

2. One who publicly promotes another's cause, especially in an extravagant or misleading way.

v. shilled, shill·ing, shills

v.intr.

To act as a shill.

v.tr.

1. To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).

2. To lure (a person) into a swindle.

[Perhaps short for shillaber, shill, of unknown origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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