abacus n
1. a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave
2. a calculator that performs arithmetic functions by manually sliding counters on rods or in grooves [also: abaci (pl)]

Abacus \Ab"a*cus\ ([a^]b"[.a]*k[u^]s), n.; E. pl. Abacuses; L. pl. Abaci (-s[imac]). [L. abacus, abax, Gr. 'a`bax]
1. A table or tray strewn with sand, anciently used for drawing, calculating, etc. [Obs.]
2. 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.
3. (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.
4. 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. --Crabb.

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The abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abaci are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets of wood, stone, or metal. The abacus was in use centuries before the adoption of the written modern numeral system and is still widely used by merchants, traders and clerks in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. The user of an abacus is called an abacist.

The use of the word abacus dates before 1387 AD, when a Middle English work borrowed the word from Latin to describe a sandboard abacus. The Latin word came from Άβακός abakos, the Greek genitive form of Άβαξ abax ("calculating-table"), from Hebrew ābāq (אבק), "dust". in use.

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