Word of the Day

  I have decided that my English vocabulary is really small (smaller than average people of 14 years old, I think), so I am going to start the Word of The Day thing.
  Basically I found a huge English dictionary and I will be starting from As and work my way to the Zs, until I go through every single word. I get to skip the ones I know, and have to remember the ones I don't (even if I think I know the word, I still have to re-memorize it).
  The Word of The Day today is:

ab·a·cus/ˈabəkəs/

Noun:

An oblong frame with rows of wires or grooves along which beads are slid, used for calculating. The flat slab on top of a capital, supporting the architrave.

  I had a friend who went to lessons to learn how to use an abacus. The abacus was commonly used by merchants, inventors, and other people who need to do math during the Chinese dynasties.