tabby English · revision 1207

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈtæb.i/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|tabis|t=rich watered silk]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|frm|atabis]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|la-med|attabi]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|ar|عَتَّابِيّ|tr=ʿattābī]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from al-ʿAttābiyya, a quarter of Baghdad where the cloth was first made.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The quarter is said to be named after a prince ʿAttāb.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Random House takes the English form as a back-formation from French ''tabis'' understood as a plural.^(RHWU) The building material ''tabby'' is a separate word, from Gullah ''tabi'' and ultimately Spanish ''tapia'' “adobe wall” according to Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A silk taffeta, apparently striped at first, later also watered silk (1638).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an adjective the word meant made of tabby, and then striped or brindled like it,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) hence ''tabby cat'' (1695).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The shortened ''tabby'' for a striped cat is from 1774,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and for a female cat, paired with ''tom'', from 1826.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It was also used for an elderly unmarried woman (1748) and a gossip,^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(RHWU) perhaps helped by ''Tabby'' as a pet form of ''Tabitha''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1638 – a striped or watered silk.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1695 – ''tabby cat''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1748 – an elderly maiden lady.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1774 – a striped cat.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1775 – a building concrete of lime and shells (separate word).^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1826 – a female cat.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A domestic [[cat]] with a coat striped or [[brindle|alt=brindled]] in grey or tawny tones.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A domestic cat, especially a female.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # A rich [[watered silk]]; also a fabric of plain weave.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated)'' A [[spinster]]; also a prying or spiteful gossip.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A building material of lime, sand and oyster shells mixed with water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having light and dark stripes; brindled.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Made of or resembling watered silk.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[taffeta]]

+ * [[tomcat]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}