abacus

1. 1.

   a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave

   Broadertablet
2. 2.

   a calculator that performs arithmetic functions by manually sliding counters on rods or in grooves

   Broadercalculator

Other forms of abacus

plural

abaci

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about abacus

What does abacus mean?

abacus means "a tablet placed horizontally on top of the capital of a column as an aid in supporting the architrave". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in abacus?

abacus has 3 syllables: ab-a-cus. The stress falls on "ab". In IPA it is /ˈæbəkəs/.

Is abacus a common word?

abacus is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.