'watered silk' definitions:
Definition of 'watered silk'
From: GCIDE
- Tabby \Tab"by\ (t[a^]b"b[y^]), n.; pl. Tabbies (t[a^]b"b[i^]z). [F. tabis (cf. It. tab[`i], Sp. & Pg. tab['i], LL. attabi), fr. Ar. 'att[=a]b[imac], 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. [1913 Webster]
- 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. [1913 Webster]
- 3. A brindled cat; hence, popularly, any cat. [1913 Webster]
- 4. An old maid or gossip. [Colloq.] --Byron. [1913 Webster]