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Originally the word referred to a square slab, for example the top of a sideboard used for display, or a gaming board. It was used by Vitruvius to refer to a wall slab (Vitruvius (1826) 7.3.10) or the slab at the top of a capital (Vitruvius (1826) 3.5.5). The latter sense is the one most commonly used in architectural contexts, in the classical orders of a square slab, in medieval contexts to refer to a slab of any shape at the top of the capital. See Ruskin's comment on the word at Works, 9.137 - ‘Abacus means a board or a tile: I wish there were an English word for it, but I fear there is no substitution possible, the term having been long fixed, and the reader will find it convenient to familiarize himself with the Latin one.’ - and the discussion there of the relationship between abacus, bell, capital and cornice.
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]