[bilk] vt [perh. alter. of
[2]balk] (1651) 1: to block the free development of: frustrate "fate ~s their hopes"
2. a: to cheat out of something valuable: defraud b: to evade payment of or to "~s his creditors"
3: to slip away from: elude "~ed her pursuers" -- bilk.er n
[2]bilk n (1790): an untrustworthy tricky individual: cheat