Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to cheat, to rob, to deceive.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Kimbaw c. to Trick, Sharp, or Cheat.
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 207: [as cit. c.1698].
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1809		G. Andrewes Dict. Sl. and Cant n.p.: kimbau to defraud, cheat.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1835		G. Kent Modern Flash Dict. [as cit. 1809].
1839		(con. 1703) W.H. Ainsworth Jack Sheppard (1917) 18: Let Jonathan kimbaw the cove.
1848		Flash Dict. in Sinks of London Laid Open.
c.1850		Duncombe New and Improved Flash Dict. [as cit. 1809].

2. to beat up.

c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Kimbaw [...] to Beat severely or to Bully. Let’s Kimbaw the Cull, c. Let’s Beat that Fellow, and get his Money (by Huffing and Bullying) from him.
1719		A. Smith Lives of Most Notorious Highway-men, etc. (1926) 207: [as cit. c.1698].
1725		New Canting Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict. [as cit. c.1698].
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum.