- mohair (n.)
[mohair 词源字典] - 1610s, earlier mocayre, 1560s, "fine hair of the Angora goat," also "a fabric made from this," from Middle French mocayart (16c.), Italian mocaiarro, both from Arabic mukhayyar "cloth of goat hair," literally "selected, choice," from khayyara "he chose." Spelling influenced in English by association with hair. Moire "watered silk" (1650s) probably represents English mohair borrowed into French and back into English.[mohair etymology, mohair origin, 英语词源]
- moire (n.)
- "watered silk," 1650s, from French moire (17c.); see mohair. As an adjective, moiré "having the appearance of watered silk," it is attested from 1823.
- tabby (n.)
- 1630s, "striped silk taffeta," from French tabis "a rich, watered silk" (originally striped), from Middle French 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."
