Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Tabby \Tab"by\, a.
   1. Having a wavy or watered appearance; as, a tabby
      waistcoat. --Pepys.

   2. Brindled; diversified in color; as, a tabby cat.

   {Tabby moth} (Zo["o]l.), the grease moth. See under {Grease}.

Tabby \Tab"by\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tabbied}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Tabbying}.]
   To water; to cause to look wavy, by the process of
   calendering; to calender; as, to tabby silk, mohair, ribbon,
   etc.

Tabby \Tab"by\, n.; pl. {Tabbies}. [F. tabis (cf. It. tab[`i],
   Sp. & Pg. tab['i], LL. attabi), fr. Ar. 'att[=a]b[=i],
   properly the name of a quarter of Bagdad where it was made,
   the quarter being named from the prince Attab, great grandson
   of Omeyya. Cf. {Tobine}.]
   1. A kind of waved silk, usually called {watered silk},
      manufactured like taffeta, but thicker and stronger. The
      watering is given to it by calendering.

   2. A mixture of lime with shells, gravel, or stones, in equal
      proportions, with an equal proportion of water. When dry,
      this becomes as hard as rock. --Weale.

   3. A brindled cat; hence, popularly, any cat.

   4. An old maid or gossip. [Colloq.] --Byron.

Source : WordNet®

tabby
     n 1: a cat with a gray or tawny coat mottled with black [syn: {tabby
          cat}]
     2: female cat [syn: {queen}]

tabby
     adj : having a gray or brown streak or a pattern or a patchy
           coloring; used especially of the patterned fur of cats
           [syn: {brindled}, {brindle}, {brinded}]