Abaque
/əˈbæk/noun
A flat slab forming the uppermost part of a classical column capital.
Did you know?Abaque ultimately shares its history with abacus, whose counting board helped give rise to the modern word for calculation and computation.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἄβαξ (ábax), ἄβακος (ábakos)
“A board or slab, especially one used for drawing or calculating”
Classical Latin
Latin
abacus
“A board or calculating table; later, the slab atop a column capital”
Medieval Latin
Latin
abacus
“The square upper slab of a column capital in architectural writing”
12th–13th Century
Old French
abaque
“The upper slab or tablet of a column capital”
Modern English
English
abaque
“A technical architectural term for the slab crowning a capital”