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Possible definitions for abaka

abacus
Calculating instrument that uses beads that slide along a series of wires or rods set in a frame to represent the decimal places. Probably of Babylonian origin, it is the ancestor of the modern digital calculator. Used by merchants in the Middle Ages throughout Europe and the Arabic world, it was gradually replaced by arithmetic based on Hindu-Arabic numerals. Though rarely used in Europe past the 18th cent., it is still used in the Middle East, China, and Japan.


abalone
Any of several marine snail species (genus Haliotis, family Haliotidae), found in warm seas worldwide. The outer surface of the single shell has a row of small holes, most of which fill in as the animal grows; some remain open as outlets for waste products. Abalones range from 4 to 10 in. (10-25 cm) across and up to 3 in. (8 cm) deep. The largest is the 12 in. (30 cm) abalone (H. rufescens). The shell's lustrous, iridescent interior is used in ornaments, and the large muscular foot is eaten as a delicacy. Commercial abalone fisheries exist in California, Mexico, Japan, and S. Africa.


Abenaki
Confederacy of Algonquian-speaking Indian peoples in NE N. America organized to resist the Iroquois confederacy, especially the Mohawk. It consisted principally of the Malecite, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot peoples. In the 17th cent. the Abenaki sided with the French against the English, but after severe defeats they withdrew to Canada, eventually settling at Saint-Fran\u00e7 ois-du-Lac in Quebec. Their current population is about 1,000.


Abuja
City (pop., 1995 est.: 423,000), federal capital of Nigeria. Construction of the city, at a site chosen for its central location and healthful climate about 300 mi (480 km) northwest of Lagos, began in 1976 under the architect K. Tange. It officially replaced Lagos as capital in 1991.


Adamawa
Traditional emirate centered in what is now Adamawa state, E Nigeria. It was founded by Modibbo Adama in the early 19th cent. He moved the capital several times before finally settling it in 1841 in Yola. The colonialist British established trading posts there; when the emir tried to force them out in 1901, they captured the town. Adamawa was partitioned in 1901 between British Northern Nigeria and German Kamerun (Cameroon). In 1919 the Cameroon portion was divided between the French and the British. The emirate's territories eventually came to form almost all of N Cameroon and part of E Nigeria.


Adana
City (pop., 1995: 1,066,000), S central Turkey, on the Seyhan River. An agricultural and industrial center and one of Turkey's largest cities, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from c.1400 BC. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 335-334 BC, it was later a Roman military station. It came under the rule of the Abbasid Arabs at the end of the 7th cent. AD and changed hands intermittently until the establishment of the Turkmen ...

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