tabby


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tab·by

 (tăb′ē)
n. pl. tab·bies
1. A rich watered silk.
2. A fabric of plain weave.
3.
a. A domestic cat with a coat that has stripes or swirls of darker fur on a lighter background.
b. A domestic cat, especially a female.
4. A spinster.
5. A prying woman; a gossip.
6. South Atlantic US A mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water used as a building material.
adj.
1. Having light and dark striped or swirled markings: a Maine coon with a tabby pattern.
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.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tabby

(ˈtæbɪ)
n
(Textiles) a fabric with a watered pattern, esp silk or taffeta
[C17: from Old French tabis silk cloth, from Arabic al-`attabiya, literally: the quarter of (Prince) `Attab, the part of Baghdad where the fabric was first made]

tabby

(ˈtæbɪ)
adj
1. (Animals) (esp of cats) brindled with dark stripes or wavy markings on a lighter background
2. having a wavy or striped pattern, particularly in colours of grey and brown
n, pl -bies
3. (Animals) a tabby cat
4. (Animals) any female domestic cat
5. informal Brit a gossiping old woman
6. slang Austral any girl or woman
[C17: from Tabby, pet form of the girl's name Tabitha, probably influenced by tabby1]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tab•by

(ˈtæb i)

n., pl. -bies, n.
1. a cat with a striped or brindled coat.
2. a domestic cat, esp. a female one.
3. a watered silk or taffeta.
adj.
4. striped or brindled.
5. made of or resembling tabby.
v.t.
6. to give a wavy or watered appearance to, as silk.
[1630–40; < French tabis (taken as pl.), Middle French (a)tabis silk cloth < Medieval Latin attābi < Arabic ‘yattābī, derivative of (al-)‘Attābīyah, quarter of Baghdad where the silk was first made, literally, the quarter of (Prince) ‘Attāb]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

tabby

- The common tabby cat derives its name from silk with a wavy pattern, from Arabic utabi, the name of the quarter in Baghdad where the silk was made.
See also related terms for silk.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.tabby - a cat with a grey or tawny coat mottled with blacktabby - a cat with a grey or tawny coat mottled with black
domestic cat, Felis catus, Felis domesticus, house cat - any domesticated member of the genus Felis
2.tabby - female cat
domestic cat, Felis catus, Felis domesticus, house cat - any domesticated member of the genus Felis
Adj.1.tabby - having a grey or brown streak or a pattern or a patchy coloring; used especially of the patterned fur of cats
patterned - having patterns (especially colorful patterns)
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

tabby

adjective striped, banded, streaked, stripy, brindled A tabby cat shot out beside her feet.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

tabby

noun
A person habitually engaged in idle talk about others:
Slang: yenta.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
قِط رَمادي
mourek
cirmos cica
grá- eîa gulbröndóttur köttur/læîa
rainė
kaķis, kaķene
kocúrik
tekir kedi

tabby

[ˈtæbɪ]
A. ADJatigrado
B. N (also tabby cat) → gato/a m/f atigrado/a
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

tabby

[ˈtæbi] n (also tabby cat) → chat(te) m/f tigré(e)tab key ntouche f tabulation
to hit the tab key → appuyer sur la touche tabulation
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tabby

n
(also tabby cat)getigerte Katze; (= female cat)(weibliche) Katze
(inf, = old maid) → Tantchen nt (inf)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

tabby

[ˈtæbɪ] n (also tabby cat) → (gatto/a) soriano/a, gatto/a tigrato/a
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

tabby

(ˈtӕbi) plural ˈtabbies noun
(also ˈtabby-cat) a usually grey or brown cat with darker stripes, especially a female one.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
You shall have a room on the sunny side, old Tabby, finished and furnished as best may suit your own notions."
"Not yet, old Tabby," answered Peter; "but that's soon done--as you shall see."
"You have been sitting in that chimney-corner fifty-five years, old Tabby, and must have heard many a tradition about him," said Peter.
"That's a pair of mittens belonging to Tabby Kitten; I only have to iron them; she washes them herself."
So Adam was consoled for the disappointment he had felt when Seth had come back from his visit to Snowfield and said "it was no use--Dinah's heart wasna turned towards marrying." For when he told his mother that Hetty was willing they should all live together and there was no more need of them to think of parting, she said, in a more contented tone than he had heard her speak in since it had been settled that he was to be married, "Eh, my lad, I'll be as still as th' ould tabby, an' ne'er want to do aught but th' offal work, as she wonna like t' do.
"And so you shall, Tabby!" her husband graciously replied, as he removed the blotting-paper, and showed the two parchments lying side by side.
The great beast, with arched back and purring like a contented tabby, rubbed his sides against the ape-man, and then at a word from the latter sprang lightly to his former place in the bow of the dugout.
By her side there stands a fat tabby cat, with a gilt toy-repeater tied to its tail, which "the boys" have there fastened by way of a quiz.
For a moment the latter stood his ground with arched back and snarling face, for all the world like a great, spotted tabby.
They're all made o' them noble animals," says he, a-pointin' to a wery nice little tabby kitten, "and I seasons 'em for beefsteak, weal or kidney, 'cording to the demand.
hu!" - and the devil, dropping at once the sanctity of his demeanor, opened to its fullest extent a mouth from ear to ear, so as to display a set of jagged and fang-like teeth, and, throwing back his head, laughed long, loudly, wickedly, and uproariously, while the black dog, crouching down upon his haunches, joined lustily in the chorus, and the tabby cat, flying off at a tangent, stood up on end, and shrieked in the farthest corner of the apartment.
Every now and then, as his companion looked up at him, she reminded him of an ancient tabby cat, protracting the enjoyment of a dish of milk.