tabby

See also: Tabby

English

Etymology

Mid 17th century French tabis, from Arabic عَتَّابِيّ (ʕattābiyy), ultimately from Arabic الْعَتَّابِيَّة (al-ʕattābiyya), a quarter of Baghdad (named for a Prince عَتَّاب (ʕattāb)) which is associated with the manufacture of a certain type of waved silk. See also taffeta, another type of silk whose name derives from the Persian (tâfta, “woven cloth”) and shares a similar etymological origin.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈtæb.i/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -æbi

Noun

tabby (countable and uncountable, plural tabbies)

(countable, uncountable) A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.
- 1863, J[oseph] Sheridan Le Fanu, “Showing how Poor Mrs. Macnamara Was Troubled and Haunted Too, and Opening a Budget of Gossip”, in The House by the Church-yard. […], volume I, London: Tinsley, Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 281:
  "Ay, ay; she wore a flowered silk tabby sacque, on band days," said Toole, who had an eye and a corner in his memory for female costume, "a fine showy—I remember."
(uncountable) 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.
(countable) A brindled cat.
- 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 5]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
  A wise tabby, a blinking sphinx, watched from her warm sill. Pity to disturb them. Mohammed cut a piece out of his mantle not to wake her.
(countable, archaic) An old maid or gossip.

Synonyms

(An old maid or gossip): See Thesaurus:old woman

Translations

cat

Arabic: عَتَّابِي (ʕattābī)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 虎斑貓 / 虎斑猫 (hǔbānmāo), 斑貓 / 斑猫 (zh) (bānmāo)
Dutch: cyper m, cyperse kat m, getijgerde kat m
French: chat tigré (fr) m, tabby (fr) m
German: Tabby n
Hungarian: cirmos (hu)
Indonesian: kucing mujair, kucing tabi
Irish: cat riabhach m
Italian: soriano, gatto soriano
Japanese: トラネコ (toraneko), 虎猫 (ja) (とらねこ, toraneko), トラ猫 (toraneko)
Occitan: cat tigrat
Portuguese: gato tigrado m
Russian: полоса́тая ко́шка f (polosátaja kóška), полоса́тый кот m (polosátyj kot)
Spanish: gato atigrado m, gato romano m (DLE), mish barcino m
Thai: แมวลายสลิด (mɛɛo-laai-sà-lìt)
Welsh: cath drilliw f, cath frech (cy) f (North)

Adjective

tabby (comparative tabbier, superlative tabbiest)

Having a wavy or watered appearance.
a tabby waistcoat
Brindled; diversified in color.
a tabby cat

Translations

brindled

Arabic: عَتَّابِي (ʕattābī)
French: moiré (fr), ondé (fr), tigré (fr)
Indonesian: lorek (id), berjalur (id)
Irish: riabhach
Italian: soriano
Occitan: tigrat
Ottoman Turkish: تكیر (tekir)
Portuguese: tigrado (pt)
Spanish: atigrado (es), barcino (es)
Welsh: trilliw, brych (cy)

Verb

tabby (third-person singular simple present tabbies, present participle tabbying, simple past and past participle tabbied)

(transitive) To give a wavy or watered appearance to (a textile).

Derived terms

Anagrams

baby T