definitions
  • synonyms

tabby

1
[ tab-ee ]
/ ˈtæb i /
|
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noun, plural tab·bies.

adjective

striped or brindled.
made of or resembling tabby.

verb (used with object), tab·bied, tab·by·ing.

to give a wavy or watered appearance to, as silk.

RELATED WORDS

gossipmonger, gossiper, tattletale, talebearer, telltale, snoop, tattler, rumormonger, informer, busybody, meddler, blabbermouth, chatterbox, parrot, taleteller, tattle, scandalmonger, babbler, flibbertigibbet, whisperer

Nearby words

tabari, tabasco, tabbinet, tabbouleh, tabbouli, tabby, taber, tabernacle, tabernacle frame, tabernacle mirror, tabernacles

Origin of tabby

1
1630–40; back formation from French tabis (taken as plural), Middle French (a)tabis silk cloth < Medieval Latin attābi < Arabic ʿattābī, derivative of (al-)ʿAttābīyah, quarter of Baghdad where the silk was first made, literally, the quarter of (Prince) ʿAttāb

Definition for tabby (2 of 2)

tabby

2
[ tab-ee ]
/ ˈtæb i /

noun

(in the southeastern U.S.) a building material composed of ground oyster shells, lime, and sand, mixed with salt water.

Origin of tabby

2
An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; said to be of West African orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tabby

British Dictionary definitions for tabby (1 of 2)

tabby

1
/ (ˈtæbɪ) /

noun

a fabric with a watered pattern, esp silk or taffeta

Word Origin for tabby

C17: from Old French tabis silk cloth, from Arabic al-`attabiya, literally: the quarter of (Prince) `Attab, the part of Baghdad where the fabric was first made

British Dictionary definitions for tabby (2 of 2)

tabby

2
/ (ˈtæbɪ) /

adjective

(esp of cats) brindled with dark stripes or wavy markings on a lighter background
having a wavy or striped pattern, particularly in colours of grey and brown

noun plural -bies

a tabby cat
any female domestic cat
British informal a gossiping old woman
Australian slang any girl or woman

Word Origin for tabby

C17: from Tabby, pet form of the girl's name Tabitha, probably influenced by tabby 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tabby

tabby

n.

1630s, "striped silk taffeta," from French tabis "a rich, watered silk (originally striped)," from Middle French atabis (14c.), from Arabic 'attabiya, from 'Attabiy, a neighborhood of Baghdad where such cloth was first made, named for prince 'Attab of the Omayyad dynasty. Tabby cat, one with a striped coat, is attested from 1690s; shortened form tabby first attested 1774. Sense of "female cat" (1826) may be influenced by the fem. proper name Tabby, a pet form of Tabitha, which was used in late 18c. as slang for "difficult old woman."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper