tabby
See also: Tabby
English
Etymology
Mid 17th century (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French tabis, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Arabic عَتَّابِيّ (ʕattābiyy), ultimately from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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 (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Persian تافته (tâfta, “woven cloth”) and shares a similar etymological origin.
Pronunciation
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, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard:
- '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.
- (countable, archaic) An old maid or gossip.
Synonyms
- (An old maid or gossip): See Thesaurus:old woman
Translations
cat
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Adjective
tabby (not comparable)
- Having a wavy or watered appearance
- a tabby waistcoat
- Brindled; diversified in color
- a tabby cat.
Translations
brindled
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).
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Arabic
- English terms derived from Persian
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/æbi
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with archaic senses
- English adjectives
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- en:Textiles