tabby
1a cat with a striped or brindled coat.
a domestic cat, especially a female one.
a spinster.
a spiteful female gossip or tattler.
a watered silk fabric, or any other watered material, as moreen.
striped or brindled.
made of or resembling tabby.
to give a wavy or watered appearance to, as silk.
Origin of tabby
1Other definitions for tabby (2 of 2)
(in the southeastern United States) a building material composed of ground oyster shells, lime, and sand, mixed with salt water.
Origin of tabby
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use tabby in a sentence
What are generally shown as brown tabbies are not sufficiently orange-brown, but mostly of a dark, brownish-gray.
Our Cats and All About Them | Harrison WeirAny one wishing to breed rich brown tabbies, should use a tortoiseshell she-cat with a very brown and black-banded he-cat.
Our Cats and All About Them | Harrison WeirI have never seen imported strong-coloured tabbies of this breed, nor do I believe such are true Angoras.
Our Cats and All About Them | Harrison WeirHe had, he said, a big pair of tabbies who slept in the hay and came up to the dairy when the milk was strained.
The Gay Cockade | Temple BaileyNow if I can only clear these old tabbies out, I can tackle Culchard.
The Travelling Companions | F. Anstey
British Dictionary definitions for tabby (1 of 2)
/ (ˈtæbɪ) /
a fabric with a watered pattern, esp silk or taffeta
Origin of tabby
1British Dictionary definitions for tabby (2 of 2)
/ (ˈtæbɪ) /
(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
a tabby cat
any female domestic cat
British informal a gossiping old woman
Australian slang any girl or woman
Origin of tabby
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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