n. (pl. -ies) 1 (in full tabby cat) a a grey or brownish cat mottled or streaked with dark stripes. b any domestic cat, esp. female. 2 a kind of watered silk. 3 a plain weave.
[ F tabis (in sense 2) f. Arab. al-' attabiya the quarter of Baghdad where tabby was manufactured: connection of other senses uncert. ]