Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - tabby

 I. noun  (plural tabbies)  Etymology: French tabis, from Middle French atabis, from Medieval Latin attabi, from Arabic ‘attabi, from Al-‘Attabiya, quarter in Baghdad  Date: 1638  1.  a. archaic a plain silk taffeta especially with moire finish  b. a plain-woven fabric  2. ~ (II)  a. a domestic cat with a striped and mottled coat  b. a domestic cat; especially a female cat  II. adjective  Date: 1640  1. of, relating to, or made of ~ a ~ vest  2. striped and mottled with darker color ; brindled a ~ cat  III. noun  Etymology: Gullah tabi, ultimately from Spanish tapia adobe wall  Date: 1775 a cement made of lime, sand or gravel, and oyster shells and used chiefly along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina in the 17th and 18th centuries