rostrum

[ ros-truhm ]
See synonyms for rostrum on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ros·tra [ros-truh], /ˈrɒs trə/, ros·trums.
  1. any platform, stage, or the like, for public speaking.

  2. a pulpit.

  1. a beaklike projection from the prow of a ship, especially one on an ancient warship for ramming an enemy ship; beak; ram.

  2. Roman Antiquity. (in the forum) the raised platform, adorned with the beaks of captured warships, from which orations, pleadings, etc., were delivered.

  3. Biology. a beaklike process or extension of some part; rostellum.

  4. British Theater. a raised platform or dais, especially one with hinged sides that can be folded and stored within a relatively small space.

Origin of rostrum

1
1570–80; <Latin rōstrum snout, bill, beak of a bird, ship's prow (in plural, speaker's platform), equivalent to rōd(ere) to gnaw, bite (cf. rodent) + -trum instrumental suffix, with dt>st

Other words for rostrum

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rostrum in a sentence

  • When they are gone, I will fight Varro on the rostra, in the Senate.

    The Lion's Brood | Duffield Osborne
  • The tribune swore, and kept his oath; he related the reason of his abandonment of his action to an assembly at the Rostra.

  • The most interesting part, however, of an ancient ship to us at the present day was the beak or rostra.

  • From its rostra, or stone platform, addresses were delivered by political agitators to open-air assemblies of the people.

    Roman Mosaics | Hugh Macmillan
  • On this becoming popular he built a new rostra, which was called the plebeian rostra or Rostra Julia.

    Rambles in Rome | S. Russell Forbes

British Dictionary definitions for rostrum

rostrum

/ (ˈrɒstrəm) /


nounplural -trums or -tra (-trə)
  1. any platform, stage, or dais on which public speakers stand to address an audience

  2. a platform or dais in front of an orchestra on which the conductor stands

  1. another word for ram (def. 5)

  2. the prow or beak of an ancient Roman ship

  3. biology zoology a beak or beaklike part

Origin of rostrum

1
C16: from Latin rōstrum beak, ship's prow, from rōdere to nibble, gnaw; in plural, rōstra, orator's platform, because this platform in the Roman forum was adorned with the prows of captured ships

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012