"to cheat," 1583, from obsolete noun
fobbe "cheat, trickster" (1393), perhaps from O.Fr.
forbe "cheat." Alternative etymology holds that the word is perhaps related to Ger.
foppen "to jeer at, make a fool of" (see
fop); or from Ger.
fuppen, einfuppen "to pocket stealthily," which would connect it to
fob (n.). To
fob (someone) off is first recorded 1597.