Tăb'by1, a.
a. [See the noun.] 1. Having a wavy or watered appearance. 2. Brinded; brindled; diversified in color; as, a tabby cat.
3 entries under this word
Tabby
Tāb'by2, n.
n. [Fr. tabis, It., Sp., & Pg. tabí, from Per. utābī, a kind of rich, undulated silk.]
- A kind of waved silk, usually watered, manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by the process of calendering.
- A mixture of lime with shells, gravel, or stones, in equal proportions, with an equal proportion of water, forming a mass, which, when dry, becomes as hard as rock.
- A cat of a tabby color. Gray.
- An old maid or gossip. [Colloq.]
Tăb'by3, v. t.
[imp. & p. p. TABBIED; p. pr. & vb. n. TABBYING.] To water, or cause to look wavy by the process of calendering; as, to tabby silk, mohair, ribbon, and the like.