i Register
In some senses, tabby is marked as slang, archaic. Watch for register when choosing this word.
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.
"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."
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.
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.
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.’
An old maid or gossip.
adj
Having a wavy or watered appearance.
a tabby waistcoat
Brindled; diversified in color.
a tabby cat
verb
To give a wavy or watered appearance to (a textile).