da·is

[dey-is, dahy-, deys]
noun
a raised platform, as at the front of a room, for a lectern, throne, seats of honor, etc.

Origin:
1225–75; Middle English deis < Anglo-French (Old French dois) < Latin discus quoit; see discus

dais, daisy, days.
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World English Dictionary
dais (ˈdeɪɪs, deɪs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
a raised platform, usually at one end of a hall, used by speakers, etc
 
[C13: from Old French deis, from Latin discusdiscus]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Dais is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dais
mid-13c., from Anglo-Fr. deis, from O.Fr. dais "table, platform," from L. discus "disk-shaped object," also, by medieval times, "table," from Gk. diskos "quoit, disk, dish." Died out in Eng. c.1600, preserved in Scotland, revived 19c. by antiquarians.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

dais

any raised platform in a room, used primarily for ceremonial purposes. Originally the term referred to a raised portion of the floor at the end of a medieval hall, where the lord of the mansion dined with his family and friends at the high table, apart from the retainers and servants. A deep-recessed bay window usually placed at one or both ends of the dais provided greater privacy for the diners than the open hall could afford. In France the word is understood as a canopy over a seat

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
The four guys up on the dais looked uniformly stumped.
Let me begin by adding my voice to the chorus of those on this dais offering thanks to our staff.
The piano downstairs is raised on a dais, lid permanently up, but it doesn't get played much.
Through the vestibule is the fellowship hall, a large room with a curved dais at the far end.
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