Otfried Lieberknecht wrote:
> ... There is only the Greek name "abakos" to infer that at some
> early stage no distinction was made between the dust-board (for drawing
> and eventually writing) and the counting-board (for reckoning with
> counters), because somehow the name of the first must have been
> transferred to the latter. The Latin words "pulvis" and "pulvisculus"
> will normally refer to the dust-board (for drawing), not to the
> counting-board ("calculator")...
Your discussion could not help but remind me of the Gothic building
practices of staking out plans on the ground using pegs and strings.
Protection for these drawings in the dirt was provided by a "trestle" or
"tracing" house, terms later transferred to "trestle" or "tracing"
boards. The word, trestle, comes from transom, the supporting structure
for either a shed or easle, with nothing to do with dust, as far as I
can tell. Nevertheless, could these be related?
--
Chuck Blatchley
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