ABACUS • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Abacus

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noun

Abacus n. (pl. E. abacuses; L. abaci)

A table or tray strewn with sand, anciently used for drawing, calculating, etc. (Obs.)

A calculating table or frame; an instrument for performing arithmetical calculations by balls sliding on wires, or counters in grooves, the lowest line representing units, the second line, tens, etc. It is still employed in China.

(Arch.)

(a)

The uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, immediately under the architrave. See Column.

(b)

A tablet, panel, or compartment in ornamented or mosaic work.

A board, tray, or table, divided into perforated compartments, for holding cups, bottles, or the like; a kind of cupboard, buffet, or sideboard.

Abacus harmonicus (Mus.), an ancient diagram showing the structure and disposition of the keys of an instrument.

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Etymology of 'Abacus'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Abacus" Quotes from Famous Books

... the Corinthian capital. The stones of the cornice, hitherto called X and Y, receive, now that they form the capital, each a separate name; the sloping stone is called the Bell of the capital, and that laid above it, the Abacus. Abacus means a board or tile: I wish there were an English word for it, but I fear there is no substitution possible, the term having been long fixed, and the reader will find it convenient to familiarise himself ...

— The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) • John Ruskin

... Abacus, n. [abkoes] Abaco; tabla aritmtica; el tablero que corona el capitel de una columna. Bilangan ng insk; ang pinakaputong na tabl sa itaas dulo ...

— Dictionary English-Spanish-Tagalog • Sofronio G. Calderon

Words linked to "Abacus" : calculator