ta·bes (t??b?z)n. pl. tabes 1. Progressive bodily wasting or emaciation.2. Tabes dorsalis.[Latin t?b?s.]ta·bet?ic (t?-b?t??k) adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.tabes (?te?bi?z) n, pl tabes1. (Pathology) a wasting of a bodily organ or part2. (Pathology) short for tabes dorsalis[C17: from Latin: a wasting away] tabetic adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014ta?bes (?te? biz) n. 1. a gradually progressive emaciation. 2. tabes dorsalis. [1645?55;