A general name given by the mobility to Dutch seamen, being a corruption of Claus, the abbreviation of Nicholas, a name very common among the men of that nation.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Close-fisted * Cloth MarketNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes