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rostra
4 dictionary results for: Rostra
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ros·tra       [ros-truh] Pronunciation Key
–noun
a pl. of rostrum.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ros·trum       [ros-truhm] Pronunciation Key
–noun, plural -tra       [-truh] Pronunciation Key, -trums.
1.any platform, stage, or the like, for public speaking.
2.a pulpit.
3.a beaklike projection from the prow of a ship, esp. one on an ancient warship for ramming an enemy ship; beak; ram.
4.Roman Antiquity. (in the forum) the raised platform, adorned with the beaks of captured warships, from which orations, pleadings, etc., were delivered.
5.Biology. a beaklike process or extension of some part; rostellum.
6.British Theater. a raised platform or dais, esp. one with hinged sides that can be folded and stored within a relatively small space.
[Origin: 1570–80; < L rōstrum snout, bill, beak of a bird, ship's prow (in pl., speaker's platform), equiv. to rōd(ere) to gnaw, bite (cf. rodent) + -trum instrumental suffix, with dt > st]

—Synonyms 1. stand, dais, podium, lectern.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ros·trum       (rŏs'trəm, rô'strəm)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. ros·trums or ros·tra (rŏs'trə, rô'strə)
  1. A dais, pulpit, or other elevated platform for public speaking.
    1. The curved, beaklike prow of an ancient Roman ship, especially a war galley.
    2. The speaker's platform in an ancient Roman forum, which was decorated with the prows of captured enemy ships.
  3. Biology A beaklike or snoutlike projection.


[Latin rōstrum, beak; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]

ros'tral (-trəl) adj.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Rostra

Ros"tra\, n. pl. See Rostrum, 2.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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