WHERE DOES THE EXPRESSION "ECHAR UN POLVO" COME FROM"?

Where does the expression "Echar un polvo" come from?
Who today, in the XXI century has not heard the expression "echar un polvo" is probably living retired in a cloistered monastery or simply live like a hermit in a place away from civilization and lost from the hand of God.
Everyone recognizes the phrase as soon as he hears it, however, probably very few know its origin.