(obsolete) To appear (to do something); to make a showof. [13th-17th c.]
1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XVII:
Than toke he hys swerde agayne and put hit up in hys sheethe, and made a crosse in hys forehede, and cam to the lyons. And they made sembelaunte to do hym harme.