Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tabby"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tabby \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}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tabby \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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tabby \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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tabby
adj : having a gray or brown streak or a pattern or a patchy
coloring; used especially of the patterned fur of cats
[syn: {brindled}, {brindle}, {brinded}]
n 1: a cat with a gray or tawny coat mottled with black [syn: {tabby
cat}]
2: female cat [syn: {queen}]
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