tabby

Meanings

Noun

• 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.
• An old maid or gossip.

Adjective

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

Verb

• To give a wavy or watered appearance to (a textile).

Origin

• Mid 17th century French tabis, from Arabic عَتَّابِيّ, ultimately from Arabic الْعَتَّابِيَّة, a quarter of Baghdad (named for a Prince عَتَّاب) 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 and shares a similar etymological origin.