1. A rich watered silk.
2. A fabric of plain weave.
3. 1. A domestic cat with a striped or brindled coat of a gray or tawny color.
   2. A domestic cat, especially a female.
4. A spinster.
5. A prying woman; a gossip.
6. South Atlantic U.S. A mixture of oyster shells, lime, sand, and water used as a building material.

1. Having light and dark striped markings: a tabby cat.
2. Made of or resembling watered silk.

[French tabis, from Old French atabis, from Medieval Latin attabī, from Arabic 'attābī, after al-'Attābīya, a suburb of Baghdad, Iraq.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.