A partner in a trade, or shop, who lends his name and money, for which he receives a share of the profit, without doing any part of the business.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Slattern * SleepyNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes