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podium

[poh-dee-uh m]
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noun, plural po·di·ums, po·di·a [poh-dee-uh] /ˈpoʊ di ə/.
  1. a small platform for the conductor of an orchestra, a public speaker, the recipient of a sports medal, etc.
  2. Architecture.
    1. a low wall forming a base for a construction, as a colonnade or dome.
    2. a stereobate for a classical temple, especially one with perpendicular sides.
    3. the masonry supporting a classical temple.
    4. a raised platform surrounding the arena of an ancient Roman amphitheater having on it the seats of privileged spectators.
  3. lectern.
  4. a counter or booth, as one at an airport for handling tickets or dispensing information.
  5. Zoology, Anatomy. a foot.
  6. Botany. a footstalk or stipe.
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verb (used without object)
  1. (in a sports competition) to finish first, second, or third and receive an award while standing on a podium: He’s podiumed in five of his past six races.
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Origin of podium

1605–15; < Latin: “elevated place, balcony” < Greek pódion “little foot,” equivalent to pod- pod- + -ion diminutive suffix. See pew

-podium

  1. a combining form meaning “footlike part” of an organism, used in the formation of compound words: monopodium; pseudo-podium.
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Also -pode.

Origin of -podium

From New Latin; see origin at podium
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for podium

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The ends of the seat or 'podium,' are concealed by boldly carved wings.

    The Care of Books

    John Willis Clark

  • Cassius, standing in Csar's podium, seemed puny compared with that Lygian.

    Quo Vadis

    Henryk Sienkiewicz

  • Behind the podium was a double portico, which ran round the whole building.

    Rambles in Rome

    S. Russell Forbes

  • It seems now much larger on account of the removal of the wall of the podium.

    Old Rome

    Robert Burn

  • Calmly, Lester produced a hundred-dollar bill and slid it across the podium.

    Makers

    Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for podium

podium

noun plural -diums or -dia (-dɪə)
  1. a small raised platform used by lecturers, orchestra conductors, etc; dais
  2. a plinth that supports a colonnade or wall
  3. a low wall surrounding the arena of an ancient amphitheatre
  4. zoology
    1. the terminal part of a vertebrate limb
    2. any footlike organ, such as the tube foot of a starfish
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Word Origin

C18: from Latin: platform, balcony, from Greek podion little foot, from pous foot

-podium

n combining form
  1. a part resembling a footpseudopodium
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Word Origin

from New Latin: footlike; see podium
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

Word Origin and History for podium

n.

1743, "raised platform around an ancient arena," also "projecting base of a pedestal," from Latin podium "raised platform," from Greek podion "foot of a vase," diminutive of pous (genitive podos) "foot" (see foot (n.)). Meaning "raised platform at the front of a hall or stage" is from 1947.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper