Late 19th century; earliest use found in W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965), writer and playwright. Apparently an alteration of Yiddish afn tish (perhaps with regional pronunciation of- or ōf-) in gelt afn tish money on the table from gelt + af on, on to + -n, oblique form of definite article + tish table, after German (nonstandard) auf Tisch on the table, i.e. (money) laid on the table, (money) down, although the occurrence of a high rounded back vowel is unexplained.