Definition of "rostrum" [ros•trum]

• A dais, pulpit, or other elevated platform for public speaking. (noun)
• The curved, beaklike prow of an ancient Roman ship, especially a war galley. (noun)
• The speaker's platform in an ancient Roman forum, which was decorated with the prows of captured enemy ships. (noun)
• Biology A beaklike or snoutlike projection. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I am cognisant of the traditional excellence of the introductions of speakers by Empire Club Presidents-an excellence that presumably each speaker from this renowned rostrum is challenged to match!"
• "Listening to him speak from the rostrum is often like listening to a venerable bishop preaching the revealed truth."
• "a sudden on this rostrum is a somewhat uncomfortable and trying experience."