tabby /ˈtæb.i/noun 5adjective 2verb 1forms 5 noun5 •A brindled cat.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. — 1922 •A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering."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." — 1863 •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. •(Australia, slang) A woman, irrespective of age, but often used for a young, attractive woman.‘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.’ — 1982 •(no longer used) An old maid or gossip. adjective2 •Having a wavy or watered appearance. •Brindled; diversified in color. verb1 •To give a wavy or watered appearance to (a textile). formstabbied · tabbying · tabbies · tabbier · tabbiest
