Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
shwanpan .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The Chinese abacus; a schwanpan.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Dated form of
suanpan .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word swanpan.
Examples
-
China, I brought with me a Chinese _abacus_ or _swanpan_, the instrument in general use among the Chinese for performing the ordinary computations of addition, subtraction, &c., thinking it a grand article of curiosity, particularly in a remote seaport town on the east coast, with which to astonish the natives.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.