Rostrum Meaning
/ˈɹɒstɹəm/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA dais, pulpit, or similar platform for a speaker, conductor, or other performer.
nounA platform for a film or television camera.
Sentence Examples
They have a snout, or rostrum, that looks like a hedge-trimmer or a chainsaw.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The speaker stepped up to the ____ to address the large crowd in the auditorium.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor stepped up to the ____ and addressed the packed lecture hall.
Word Origin & History
Learned borrowing from Latin rōstrum (“beak, snout”), from rōd(ō) (“gnaw”) + -trum, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- + *-trom. The pulpit sense is a back-formation from the name of the Roman Rōstra, the platforms in the Forum where politicians made speeches. The Rōstra were decorated with (and named for) the beaks (prows) of ships from naval victories.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"He saw a crowd listening to a man who was talking from the rostrum of a kitchen-chair."
— 1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 27, in Babbitt:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The speaker stepped up to the ____ to address the large crowd in the auditorium.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The professor stepped up to the ____ and addressed the packed lecture hall.