Tabby definition
Having light and dark striped or swirled markings.
A Maine coon with a tabby pattern.
adjective
A light-colored cat with darker stripes, sometimes of another color.
noun
(south atlantic us) A mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water used as a building material.
noun
A domestic cat with a coat that has stripes or swirls of darker fur on a lighter background.
noun
A domestic cat, especially a female.
noun
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Made of or resembling watered silk.
adjective
A silk taffeta with stripes or wavy markings; watered silk.
noun
Any domestic cat, esp. a female.
noun
An old maid.
noun
A malicious woman gossip.
noun
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Made of, or like, tabby.
adjective
Having dark stripes over gray or brown; brindled.
adjective
To make wavy markings in (silk, etc.)
verb
(uncountable) A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.
noun
(uncountable) A mixture of lime with shells, gravel, or stones, in equal proportions, with an equal proportion of water. When dry, this becomes as hard as rock.
noun
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(countable, archaic) An old maid or gossip.
noun
Having a wavy or watered appearance; as, a tabby waistcoat.
adjective
Brindled; diversified in color; as, a tabby cat.
adjective
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A rich watered silk.
noun
A fabric of plain weave.
noun
A spinster.
noun
A prying woman; a gossip.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
tabby
Plural:
tabbiesOrigin of tabby
- French tabis from Old French atabis from Medieval Latin attabī from Arabic ‘attābī after al-‘Attābīya , a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Mid 17th circa French atabis, from Arabic attabi, ultimately from Arabic al-Attabiya, the name of a section of Baghdad, Iraq, which is associated with the manufacture of a certain type of waved silk; see also taffeta, another type of silk whose name derives from the Persian تافته (tâfta, “woven cloth") and shares a similar etymological origin.
From Wiktionary