Related Searches
Nearby Words

tabby

 [tab-ee]   Origin

tab·by

1   [tab-ee] noun, plural -bies, adjective, verb, -bied, -by·ing.
noun
1.
a cat with a striped or brindled coat.
2.
a domestic cat, especially a female one.
3.
a spinster.
4.
a spiteful female gossip or tattler.
5.
plain weave.
EXPAND
6.
a watered silk fabric, or any other watered material, as moreen.
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar Dictionary.com Define Tabby Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Ad
adjective
7.
striped or brindled.
8.
made of or resembling tabby.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Tabby is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
to spend time idly; loaf.
to bark; yelp.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used with object)
9.
to give a wavy or watered appearance to, as silk.
Origin:
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
Dictionary.com Unabridged

tab·by

2   [tab-ee]
noun
(in the southeastern U.S.) a building material composed of ground oyster shells, lime, and sand, mixed with salt water.
Origin:
1765–75, Americanism; said to be of West African orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To tabby
Collins
World English Dictionary
tabby1 (ˈtæbɪ)
 
—n
a fabric with a watered pattern, esp silk or taffeta
 
[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]

tabby2 (ˈtæbɪ)
 
—adj
1.  (esp of cats) brindled with dark stripes or wavy markings on a lighter background
2.  having a wavy or striped pattern, particularly in colours of grey and brown
 
—n , -bies
3.  a tabby cat
4.  any female domestic cat
5.  informal (Brit) a gossiping old woman
6.  slang (Austral) any girl or woman
 
[C17: from Tabby, pet form of the girl's name Tabitha, probably influenced by tabby1]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tabby
1638, "striped silk taffeta," from Fr. tabis "a rich, watered silk (originally striped)," from M.Fr. 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
EXPAND
attested from 1695; shortened form tabby first attested 1774. Sense of "female cat" (1826) may be infl. by the fem. proper name Tabby, a pet form of Tabitha, which was used in late 18c. as slang for "difficult old woman."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

tabby

type of dark-striped coat colouring found in both wild and domestic cats. One of the most common coat colours, the tabby pattern dates back to domestic cats in ancient Egypt. It is a recognized colour variety in purebred cats and is frequently seen in cats of mixed ancestry. Tabby colouring is highly variable but, for show cats, should consist of the following dark markings: stripes and whorls on the face and cheeks; a pattern like butterfly wings across the shoulders; two rings around the chest; bands on the back and sides; and rings about the legs and tail. Allowable ground colours are brown (see ), silver gray (see ), bluish ivory, and reddish brown (see ).

Learn more about tabby with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know? FIND OUT