tabby

[ tab-ee ]

/ ˈtæb i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tabby ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural tab·bies.

a cat with a striped or brindled coat.

a domestic cat, especially a female one.

a spinster.

a spiteful female gossip or tattler.

plain weave.

a watered silk fabric, or any other watered material, as moreen.

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

Nearby words

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

Origin of tabby

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

[ 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

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

A time was appointed, and Tabby, the chief, sent a man and horse for me.
Forty Years Among the Indians|Daniel W. Jones
But what makes you feel as if something was going to happen to reveal the secret, Tabby?
Tried for Her Life|Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
Miss Tabby shrieked out that she was going to be drowned, although not a drop of water had touched her.
Tried for Her Life|Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth
I have two or three other cats, sir; but I'm very poor, and a little money is more useful to me than old Tabby.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 404, June, 1849|Various

This as a watch dog he felt it his duty to do once or twice during the night, while Tabby went to the barn to catch mice.
Zip, the Adventures of a Frisky Fox Terrier|Frances Trego Montgomery

British Dictionary definitions for tabby (1 of 2)

tabby

/ (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

/ (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