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 تافته (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)

1. (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."

2. (uncountable) A concrete 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.
3. (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.

4. (chiefly Australia, slang) A woman, irrespective of age, but often used for a young, attractive woman.
   • 1982, Paul Radley, My Blue-Checker Corker and Me, Sydney: Fontana/Collins, page 76:

     ‘The kids go for a drive in a borrowed car, park on another street between the corner lamps, and then there’s ructions because some little tabby gets up the stick.’

5. (countable, archaic) An old maid or gossip.

Synonyms

• (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)

• Czech: mourek (cs) m, mourovatá kočka
• 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)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: cat tigrat
• Polish: pręgowany (pl) kot (pl)
• Portuguese: gato tigrado m
• Russian: полоса́тая ко́шка f (polosátaja kóška), полоса́тый кот m (polosátyj kot)
• Spanish: gato atigrado m, gato romano m, mish barcino m
• Thai: แมวลายสลิด (mɛɛo-laai-sà-lìt)
• Turkish: tekir (tr)
• Welsh: cath drilliw f, cath frech (cy) f (North)

Adjective

tabby (comparative tabbier, superlative tabbiest)

1. Having a wavy or watered appearance.

   a tabby waistcoat

2. Brindled; diversified in color.

   a tabby cat

Translations

brindled

• Arabic: عَتَّابِي (ʕattābī)
• Czech: mourovatý
• French: moiré (fr), ondé (fr), tigré (fr)
• Indonesian: lorek (id), berjalur (id)
• Irish: riabhach
• Italian: soriano
• Occitan: tigrat
• Portuguese: tigrado (pt)
• Spanish: atigrado (es), barcino (es)
• Turkish: tekir (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: تكیر (tekir)

• Welsh: trilliw, brych (cy)

Verb

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

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

Derived terms

• nontabby
• tabbiness
• tabby cat
• tabbyhood
• tabby party
• torbie

Anagrams

• baby T