Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TAB'BY, n. [Fr. tabis; It. Sp. and Port. tabi; Dan. tabin; D. tabbyn; G. tobin; Arm. taftas, taffeta. Qu. Fr. taveler, to spot.]

1. A kind of waved silk, usually watered. It is manufactured like taffeta, but is thicker and stronger. The watering is given to it by the calender. Cyc.
2. A mixture of lime with shells, gravel or stones in equal proportions, with an equal proportion of water, forming a mass, which, when dry, becomes as hard as rock. This is used in Morocco instead of bricks for the walls of buildings. It was used formerly in Georgia, U.S. Spalding.