Tabby word meaning and definition

[noun] female cat
[noun] a cat with a gray or tawny coat mottled with black
[adjective] having a gray or brown streak or a pattern or a patchy coloring; used especially of the patterned fur of cats

\Tab"by\, n.; pl. {Tabbies}. [F. tabis (cf. It. tab[`i], Sp. & Pg. tab['i], LL. attabi), fr. Ar. 'att[=a]b[=i], properly the name of a quarter of Bagdad where it was made, the quarter being named from the prince Attab, great grandson of Omeyya. Cf. {Tobine}.] 1. A kind of waved silk, usually called {watered silk}, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering. 2. A mixture of lime with shells, gravel, or stones, in equal proportions, with an equal proportion of water. When dry, this becomes as hard as rock. --Weale. 3. A brindled cat; hence, popularly, any cat. 4. An old maid or gossip. [Colloq.] --Byron.
\Tab"by\, a. 1. Having a wavy or watered appearance; as, a tabby waistcoat. --Pepys. 2. Brindled; diversified in color; as, a tabby cat. {Tabby moth} (Zo["o]l.), the grease moth. See under {Grease}.
\Tab"by\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tabbied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tabbying}.] To water; to cause to look wavy, by the process of calendering; to calender; as, to tabby silk, mohair, ribbon, etc.

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