tabby
tabby
Definition
tabby (tab′ē)
noun pl. -·bies
- a silk taffeta with stripes or wavy markings; watered silk
- a light-colored cat with darker stripes, sometimes of another color
- any domestic cat, esp. a female
- Brit., Informal
- an old maid
- a malicious woman gossip
Etymology: Fr tabis, earlier atabis < ML attabi < Ar al-ʼattābīya < ʿattābī, the quarter of Baghdad where it was manufactured: after a prince ʼAttāb, of the Omayyad dynasty
adjective
- made of, or like, tabby
- having dark stripes over gray or brown; brindled
transitive verb -·bied, -·by·ing
to make wavy markings in (silk, etc.)
tabby
Usage Examples
Converse of object
- have: All colors can also have tabby or tortie patterns.
- name: I'm a Siamese and my best friend is an orange tabby named Tigger.
Adjective modifier
- spotted: In the light cast onto the path, a small, long, slender spotted tabby cried to be let in.
- brown: He is a 3 year old grayish brown short haired tabby with some white under his chin.
- silver: That was when he landed on Patty, all sixteen pounds of silver tabby.
- blue: T his is Lexi, my long-awaited blue mitted tabby.
- old: Oscar a 5yr old male tabby who was found abandoned, came to us to be re-homed.
- orange: In Garfield, the orange tabby with attitude has a fondness for lasagna from, where else?
Modifies a noun
- marking: The tabby markings are overlaid with patches of red or cream giving an effect of mingled colors.
- shading: Tabby shading, if any, to tone with the points.
- kitten: A gray tabby kitten with an injured foot from a road traffic accident was the first patient in the cat ward.
- cat: I have a tabby cat called Rufus * What 2 things would you bring with you to a desert island?
- pattern: Any shading on the body will show the underlying tabby pattern which may be ticked, spotted, mackerel or classic.
- gene: The various tabby genes are covered in more detail below.
Noun used with modifier
- tortie: Tortie Tabby British Shorthair - In the tortie tabby the tabby pattern is overlaid with shades of red or cream.
- ginger: Tilly's best friend is Socks the ginger tabby who will be visiting you for milk each day.
- silver: Derek knew better, a little silver tabby had already picked him.
- ghost: In all the self-colours there is no ghost tabby markings or bars.
- orange: He was a huge orange tabby cat who was so wonderful, patient and loving.
- mushroom: FAWN TABBY POINT ( 32 9 ) ( Championship status ) Points: Clear warm pale rosy mushroom tabby markings.
tabby Quotes
Demurest of the tabby kind, The pensive Selima reclined, Gazed on the lake below.
Browse dictionary entries near tabby
- tabernacle
- tabes
- tabes dorsalis
- Tabitha
- tabla
- tablature
- table
- table d'hôte
- table-hop
- table linen
