Definition of TABBY

tabby

Plural: tabbies

Noun

  • a cat with a grey or tawny coat mottled with black
  • female cat
  • A kind of waved silk, usually called watered silk, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by calendering.
  • 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.
  • A brindled cat.
  • A woman, irrespective of age, but often used for a young, attractive woman.
  • An old maid or gossip.

Adjective Satellite

  • having a grey or brown streak or a pattern or a patchy coloring; used especially of the patterned fur of cats

Adj

  • Having a wavy or watered appearance.
  • Brindled; diversified in color.

Verb

Verb Forms: tabbied, tabbying, tabbies

  • To give a streaked, wavy, or mottled appearance to something.
  • To give a wavy or watered appearance to (a textile).

Examples

  • He tried to TABBY the board with random letters, hoping for a lucky draw on the next turn.

Origin / Etymology

Mid 17th century French tabis, from Arabic عَتَّابِيّ (ʕattābiyy), ultimately from 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 Persian تافته (tâfta, “woven cloth”) and shares a similar etymological origin.

Synonyms

brinded, brindle, brindled, queen, tabby cat, old woman

Scrabble Score: 12

tabby: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
tabby: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
tabby: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

tabby: valid Words With Friends Word