abacus
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Entered English circa 16th century. Latin abacus, abax; from Greek ἄβαξ ('a`bax) (board covered with sand), possibly from Hebrew אבק (āvāq) (dust).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
abacus (plural abaci or abacuses)
- (obsolete) A table or tray strewn with sand, anciently used for drawing, calculating, etc.
- 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.
- I've heard merchants still use an abacus for adding things up in China.
- (architecture) The uppermost member or division of the capital of a column, immediately under the architrave.
- (archaic) 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.
[edit] Translations
obsolete: tray of sand for calculating
calculating frame
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uppermost member of the capital of a column
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Related terms
[edit] References
- abacus in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
[edit] Shorthand
- (Version: Centennial, Series 90,DJS, Simplified,Anniversary, Pre-Anniversary): a - b - a - k - u - comma s
[edit] Latin
[edit] Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἄβαξ (abax, “board”)
[edit] Noun
abacus (genitive abacī); m, second declension
- a square board.
- sideboard.
- 70 BCE, M. Tullius Cicero, In Verrem II 4:35
- Ab hoc abaci vasa omnia, ut exposita fuerunt, abstulit.
- From this place he removed all the sideboard's dishes, since they had been exposed.
- Ab hoc abaci vasa omnia, ut exposita fuerunt, abstulit.
- 70 BCE, M. Tullius Cicero, In Verrem II 4:35
- counting board.
- a. 62, A. Persius Flaccus, Satura I 131
- ...nec qui abaco numeros et secto in pulvere metas / scit risisse vafer, multum gaudere paratus, / si cynico barbam petulans nonaria vellat.
- ...nor the man who has the wit to laugh at the figures on the counting board and the cones drawn in sand, ready to go off in ecstasies if a prostitute pulls a Cynic by the beard.
- ...nec qui abaco numeros et secto in pulvere metas / scit risisse vafer, multum gaudere paratus, / si cynico barbam petulans nonaria vellat.
- a. 62, A. Persius Flaccus, Satura I 131
- gaming board.
- 121, C. Suetonius Tranquillus, De vita Caesarum Nero 22:1
- Sed cum inter initia imperii eburneis quadrigis cotidie in abaco luderet, ad omnis etiam minimos circenses e secessu commeabat, primo clam, deinde propalam, ut nemini dubium esset eo die utique affuturum.
- But in the early stages of his rule he used to play every day on a gaming board with ivory chariots. He would also travel from his retreat to the Circus games, even the least important ones, at first in secret and then openly. As a result, no one was in any doubt that he would be present in Rome that day at least.
- Sed cum inter initia imperii eburneis quadrigis cotidie in abaco luderet, ad omnis etiam minimos circenses e secessu commeabat, primo clam, deinde propalam, ut nemini dubium esset eo die utique affuturum.
- 121, C. Suetonius Tranquillus, De vita Caesarum Nero 22:1
- a painted ceiling or wall panel.
- 79, G. Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia 33:56
- Hoc autem et Attico ad lumina utuntur, ad abacos non nisi marmoroso, quoniam marmor in eo resistit amaritudini calcis.
- This and the Attic sort they used for high lights, for panels none but the marmorean kind, because the marble in it resists acridity of the lime.
- Hoc autem et Attico ad lumina utuntur, ad abacos non nisi marmoroso, quoniam marmor in eo resistit amaritudini calcis.
- 79, G. Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia 33:56
[edit] Inflection
| Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | abacus | abacī |
| genitive | abacī | abacōrum |
| dative | abacō | abacīs |
| accusative | abacum | abacōs |
| ablative | abacō | abacīs |
| vocative | abace | abacī |
[edit] Descendants
[edit] References
Professor Kidd, et al. Collins Gem Latin Dictionary. HarperCollins Publishers (Glasgow: 2004). ISBN 0-00-470763-X. page 1.