napier's bones
NounSynonyms:
Napier's rods
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- a set of graduated rods formerly used to do multiplication and division by a method invented by John NapierSynonyms: Napier's rodsType of calculator, calculating machine
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Na′pi·er's bones′, Na′pi·er's rods′.
A set of rods, made of bone or other material, each divided into nine spaces, and containing the numbers of a column of the multiplication table; — a contrivance of Baron Napier, the inventor of logarithms, for facilitating the operations of multiplication and division.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54