abacus

abacus Definition

aba·cus (ab′ə kəs; occas. ə bak′əs)

noun pl. ab′a·cuses or ab′a·ci′-sī′

a frame with beads or balls that can be slid on wires or in slots, for doing or teaching arithmetic
Archit. a slab forming the uppermost part of the capital of a column

Etymology: L < Gr abax (gen. abakos), counting board, slab

abacus Usage Examples

Converse of object

use: Can you find out how to use an abacus?
choose: Abacus chosen for Nottinghamshire Portal October 2003 The Nottinghamshire Partnership has selected Abacus e-Media to supply and develop the County's web portal.
know: I have never known so exactly This abacus of days. This withdrawal.
have: They didn't have calculators in Victorian schools, but they did have the abacus!

Preposition: with

bead: Childrens Abacus £ 17.99 US$35.08 E27.88 Wooden abacus with colorful counting beads.

Adjective modifier

square: The wealth of the Norman mason's art is seen in cushion capitals, square abaci The taxation of Pope Nicholas IV.
small: The world's smallest abacus now uses individual molecules ( 13 November 1996 ).

Modifies a noun

plot: An abacus plot of data from all treatment arms ( Figure 2 ) emphasizes the dependency on some large trials.

Noun used with modifier

round: The arcade had the usual round piers and round abaci, with capitals of flat, broad, simple leaves.

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