Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: pawn 'condition of having been pawned' (15-21 centuries), from Old French pan

pawn

2 verb
     
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pawn2 [transitive]
BBTBF to leave something valuable with a pawnbroker in order to borrow money from them

pawn something ↔ off

phrasal verb
1 informal to persuade someone to buy or accept something that you want to get rid of, especially something of low quality
pawn something ↔ off on
Don't let him pawn off an old bike on you - get a new one.
2

pawn somebody/something ↔ off as something

to present something in a dishonest way:
The tabloids often pawn off gossip and trivia as real news.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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