Tabby cat is also comparable to the Spanish word "ataviar", which means "to decorate or to dress or wear" and often implies luxurious clothing. Usage of the term "tabby cat ," which means "one with a striped coat", began in the 1690s and was later shortened to "tabby" in 1774. The notion that tabby is indicative of a female cat may be a reference to the feminine proper name Tabby, as a shortened form of Tabitha. There are four tabby patterns that have been shown to be genetically distinct: Mackerel, Classic, Spotted, and Ticked. A fifth includes tabby as part of another
Oh Dear! What Can the Matter Be? me a twopenny whistle He'll buy me a threepenny fair He'll buy me a Bunch o' Blue Ribbons To tye up my bonny Brown Hair O saw ye him coming And saw ye him coming O saw ye him coming Hame frae the Newcastle fair </poem> The following are given as the traditional lyrics (being chorus and verse) in Cuddon's and Preston's "A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory": <poem> O dear, what can the matter be? Dear, dear, what can the matter be? O dear, what can the matter be? Johnny's so long at the fair. He promised