E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Gib Cat.
A tom-cat. The male cat used to be called Gilbert. Nares says that Tibert or Tybalt is the French form of Gilbert, and hence Chaucer in his Romance of the Rose, renders “Thibert le Cas” by “Gibbe, our Cat” (v. 6204). Generally used for a castrated cat. (See TYBALT.)
1
“I am as melancholy as a gib cat or a lugged bear.”—Shakespeare: 1 Henry IV., i. 2.
