fem. proper name, from Late Latin, from Greek Tabitha, from Aramaic (Semitic) tabhyetha, emphatic of tabhya "gazelle," which is related to Hebrew tzebhi (fem. tzebhiyyah), Arabic zaby.
Entries linking to tabitha
tabby n.
1630s, "striped silk taffeta," from French tabis "a rich, watered silk" (originally striped), earlier atabis (14c.), from Arabic 'attabi, from 'Attabiyah, a neighborhood of Baghdad where such cloth was made, said to be named for prince 'Attab of the Omayyad dynasty. As an adjective from 1630s.
Tabby cat, one with a striped coat, is attested from 1690s; shortened form tabby first attested 1774. "The wild original of the domestic cat is always of such coloration" [Century Dictionary]. Sense of "female cat" (1826) may be influenced by the fem. proper name Tabby, a pet form of Tabitha, which was used in late 18c. as slang for "spiteful spinster, difficult old woman."