Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to leave, to run off, to slip away quietly.

1835		Worcester Herald 26 Dec. 4/3: Namas, run away; namas, give the crush a sicer down the back slums, run to give the officer the slip down the back streets.
1845		J. Lindridge Sixteen-String Jack 210: Jared had requested him over and over again, to bolt, mizzle, hook it, namhus, kut his lucky, shake his trotters, waggle his extenders.
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 61: Vell, I shall nammus.
1848		Bell’s Life in Sydney 26 Feb. 1/4: Who’d have thought the traps had a down she was a bolter? She’ll nammus, I suppose.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 58: namased Ran away; got out of sight; ran.
1860		R. Nicholson Rogue’s Progress (1966) 26: Maurice and his friend ‘namassed’ with the stakes.
1860		Bell’s Life in Sydney 17 Mar. 3/3: He had recourse to the dodge of bringing his seat of intellect into disagreeable propiuiquity with Mr Thompson’s abdominal viscera, and then ‘nammassed’.
1861		Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 9 Nov. 216: But Bingavast’s the word ! I must namaze.
1865		Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 6/1: We started for the back door, each trying to get clear before the other, and ‘namasing’, helter-skelter, down Boot and Shoe Yard.
1866		London Misc. 3 Mar. 57: It was a regular trosseno (bad one). If it went on that always, he said, he should precious soon nommus (cut it) [F&H].
1873		Sl. Dict. 234: Nammus, or namous to be off, to get away; ‘let’s NAMMUS, somebody’s coming.’.
1877		J. Diprose London Life 43: But ‘kool esilop’ (look at the police), ‘nammus’ (be off).
1880		W. Hooe Sharping London 35: Nammus, to get away.
1891		F.W. Carew Autobiog. of a Gipsey 65: I’ll give you twenty pound apiece if you’ll let me nammus.

2. to run, to hurry, to come towards.

1865

Leaves from Diary of Celebrated Burglar 85/1: The ‘bloke’ ‘namased’ to the rescue, thinking his ‘smash’ was being ‘nalled’ from the ‘slide’.