dais
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of dais
1225–75; Middle English deis < Anglo-French ( Old French dois ) < Latin discus quoit; see discus
Explanation
A speaker stands on a dais, or a platform, when giving a presentation. If you were speaking at the Coffee Lovers of America's conference, you'd step onto the dais so the audience could see you over their enormous cups o' joe. Dais comes to us from the Old French word deis, which was originally pronounced with only one syllable — more like days than the current day-us. If you take a course in a lecture hall, your professor will need to stand on the dais so everyone can see her better.
Vocabulary lists containing dais
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Lightning Thief
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Before the vote, Carney said from the dais that he showed poor judgment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
When Mullin walked to the dais, he shook only one hand: O'Brien's.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
The party would have been better off in the end if he had just fallen asleep on the dais.
From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026
The CFTC’s Acting Chair Caroline Pham followed Atkins to the dais, and proudly reeled off her successes at streamlining and updating her agency.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
Dread filling her, Kaede climbed the low steps of the dais.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
