tabby

1 of 3

noun (1)

tab·​by ˈta-bē 

plural tabbies

1

[tabby entry 2]

a

: a domestic cat with a striped and mottled coat

b

: a domestic cat

especially : a female cat

2

a

: a plain-woven fabric

b

archaic : a plain silk taffeta especially with moiré finish

Illustration of tabby

• tabby 1a

tabby

2 of 3

adjective

1

: striped and mottled with darker color : brindled

a tabby cat

2

: of, relating to, or made of tabby

a tabby vest

tabby

3 of 3

noun (2)

: a cement made of lime, sand or gravel, and oyster shells and used chiefly along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina in the 17th and 18th centuries

Examples of tabby in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Fortunately, actor Will Brill knows a thing or two about balance, and managed to both a) charmingly answer our many varied queries about his wide-ranging career and b) attend to his yowling tabby’s needs while doing so. — Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 4 Nov. 2026

Downer requested in the petition that her orange tabby cat, Pumpkin, be returned. — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026

Adjective

Nini, who was last seen running away, and Malcolm the tabby cat, who's still unaccounted for. — Megan Shinn, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Przenioslo also built the collection’s colors around Felix, selecting turquoise, brown and beige glazes inspired by his eyes and tabby coat. — Pat Mueller, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

French tabis, from Middle French atabis, from Medieval Latin attabi, from Arabic ʽattābī, from Al-ʽAttābīya, quarter in Baghdad

Noun (2)

Gullah tabi, ultimately from Spanish tapia adobe wall

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1638, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Adjective

1640, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (2)

1775, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tabby

• abbe
• cabbie
• cabby
• flabby
• gabby
• gaby
• scabby
• shabby

Kids Definition

tabby

noun

tab·​by

ˈtab-ē

plural tabbies

1

: a domestic cat with a striped and spotted coat

2

: a female cat

Etymology

Noun

from French tabis "a silk fabric with a lustrous wavy finish," from Latin attabi (same meaning), from Arabic 'attābī (same meaning), from Al-'Attābīya, name of a part of Baghdad where the cloth was made

Word Origin

A silk cloth with a striped or wavy pattern was once made in a section of the ancient city of Baghdad in what is now Iraq. The Arabic name for the cloth was 'attābī, from Al-'Attābīya, the name of the part of the city where it was made. Through Latin, the French borrowed this word for the cloth, calling it tabis. This word in turn became tabby in English. People saw a resemblance between the striped or wavy pattern of the silk and cats that had striped or spotted markings on their fur. Thus these cats came to be called tabby cats after the cloth.