tabby
tabby Lexical Profile
tabby Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a coat pattern of dark stripes, swirls, or spots on a lighter background, often with an M-shaped marking on the forehead (of a domestic cat).
"The stray tabby kitten quickly adapted to life indoors."
• noun
A domestic cat (Felis catus) of any breed having a distinctive coat marked with dark stripes, whorls, or spots on a paler background and a characteristic M-shaped marking on the forehead.
"Our orange tabby loves to nap on the sunny windowsill all afternoon."
American A durable building material used in the coastal southeastern United States, made from a mixture of lime, water, sand, ash, and crushed oyster shells.
"Many historic colonial cottages along the Georgia coast were constructed using tabby."
A coarse, watered or striped silk taffeta, or a plain one-over-one weave used in textile manufacturing.
"The antique gown was fashioned from heavy watered tabby."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although commonly mistaken for a specific breed, 'tabby' actually refers to a genetic coat pattern that occurs across many different domestic cat breeds.
• Rhymes for tabby
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 17th century from French 'tabis', referring to a striped silk taffeta, which ultimately derives from Arabic 'al-Attabiyya', a quarter of Baghdad famous for weaving striped silk cloth.