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tabby

 - 5 dictionary results

tab⋅by

1  [tab-ee] noun, plural -bies, adjective, verb, -bied, -by⋅ing.
Use tabby in a Sentence
–noun
1. a cat with a striped or brindled coat.
2. a domestic cat, esp. a female one.
3. a spinster.
4. a spiteful female gossip or tattler.
5. plain weave.
6. a watered silk fabric, or any other watered material, as moreen.
–adjective
7. striped or brindled.
8. made of or resembling tabby.
–verb (used with object)
9. to give a wavy or watered appearance to, as silk.
Origin:
1630–40; back formation from F tabis (taken as pl.), MF (a)tabis silk cloth < ML attābi < Ar ʿattābī, deriv. of (al-)ʿAttābīyah, quarter of Baghdad where the silk was first made, lit., the quarter of (Prince) ʿAttāb

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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tabby
tab·by   (tāb'ē)   
n.   pl. tab·bies

  1. A rich watered silk.

  2. A fabric of plain weave.

    1. A domestic cat with a striped or brindled coat of a gray or tawny color.

    2. A domestic cat, especially a female.

  4. A spinster.

  5. A prying woman; a gossip.

  6. South Atlantic U.S. A mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water used as a building material.

adj.  

  1. Having light and dark striped markings: a tabby cat.

  2. Made of or resembling watered silk.


[French tabis, from Old French atabis, from Medieval Latin attabī, from Arabic 'attābī, after al-'Attābīya, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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 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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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 ).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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