Noah Webster
Tabby
TAB'BY, adjective [See the Noun.] Brinded; brindled; diversified in color; as a tabby cat.
TAB'BY, noun
1. A kind of waved silk, usually watered. It is manufactured like taffeta, but is thick and stronger. The watering is given to it by the calendar.
2. A mixture of stone of shells and mortar, which becomes hard as a rock; used in Morocco.
TAB'BY, verb transitive To water or cause to look wavy; as, to tabby silk, mohair, ribin, etc. This is done by a calendar without water.