A device used for performing arithmetical calculations; (rare) a table on which loose counters are placed, or (more commonly) an instrument with beads sliding on rods, or counters in grooves, with one row of beads or counters representing units, the next tens, etc.
Used in a Sentence
abaci
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for abaci.
Editorial note
Fun fact: The romans had abacuses (abaci?), which represent a positional number system--including a representation for zero.
Examples14
Definitions3
Parts of speech1
Quick take
A device used for performing arithmetical calculations; (rare) a table on which loose counters are placed, or (more commonly) an instrument with beads sliding on rods, or counters in grooves, with one row of beads or counters representing units, the next tens, etc.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of abaci gathered in one view.
(architecture) The uppermost portion of the capital of a column immediately under the architrave, in some cases a flat oblong or square slab, in others more decorated.
(Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, historical) A board, tray, or table, divided into perforated compartments for holding bottles, cups, or the like; a kind of buffet, cupboard, or sideboard.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for abaci.
noun
A device used for performing arithmetical calculations; (rare) a table on which loose counters are placed, or (more commonly) an instrument with beads sliding on rods, or counters in grooves, with one row of beads or counters representing units, the next tens, etc.
noun
(architecture) The uppermost portion of the capital of a column immediately under the architrave, in some cases a flat oblong or square slab, in others more decorated.
noun
(Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, historical) A board, tray, or table, divided into perforated compartments for holding bottles, cups, or the like; a kind of buffet, cupboard, or sideboard.
Example sentences
Fun fact: The romans had abacuses (abaci?), which represent a positional number system--including a representation for zero.
See what Fibonacci used to say in his first book Liber Abaci about using arabic numerals.
Transistors killed abaci and slide rules, and made skills in their use suddenly redundant.
Liber Abaci by Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci) is an important interesting book to read.
There's nothing that a computer can do that can't theoretically be accomplished by a team of people with abaci and carrier pigeons.
There exist many, even in Ogaki, which specialize in nothing other than abaci.
A few pages of Fibonacci's Liber Abaci pretty much transformed European math.
That's like saying from the perspective of arithmetic we're abaci because we can both do sums.
Fibbonacci's Liber Abaci introduced the Indo–Arabic numeral system to Europe.
Or were there specific abaci designed around the Roman system?
If you're willing to count abaci we've had superhuman intelligences for thousands of years.
They were using abaci and writing down the results.
Quote examples
I like slide rules, and abaci, and jigs, protractors, T squares, or other nifty tools for measuring and computing from "before" the computer age because they represent something of a unique tool.
Proper noun examples
Abaci would actually probably be good for making mental math come naturally.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use abaci in a sentence?
Fun fact: The romans had abacuses (abaci?), which represent a positional number system--including a representation for zero.
What does abaci mean?
A device used for performing arithmetical calculations; (rare) a table on which loose counters are placed, or (more commonly) an instrument with beads sliding on rods, or counters in grooves, with one row of beads or counters representing units, the next tens, etc.
What part of speech is abaci?
abaci is commonly used as noun.