noun
tabby
TAB-ee
noun
1
A cat with a striped or mottled coat pattern.
"The tabby curled up on the windowsill in the sun."
adj
1
Having a striped, brindled, or mottled coloring.
"The kitten had a distinctive tabby coat."
How to Use Tabby
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishRefers to the common striped or blotched pattern seen in many domestic cats.
Common pairings
tabby cat
tabby coat
Word Forms
tabbier comparative, tabbied past tense, tabbies plural, tabbies singular, tabbiest superlative
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Etymology
From French tabis, ultimately from Arabic al-attabiyya, a district of Baghdad known for producing a type of striped watered silk; the pattern name later transferred to cats with similar markings.