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dais - 6 dictionary results

da⋅is

  [dey-is, dahy-, deys]
Use dais in a Sentence
–noun
a raised platform, as at the front of a room, for a lectern, throne, seats of honor, etc.
Origin:
1225–75; ME deis < AF (OF dois) < L discus quoit; see discus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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da·is   (dā'ĭs, dī'-)   
n.  A raised platform, as in a lecture hall, for speakers or honored guests.

[Middle English deis, from Anglo-Norman, platform, from Late Latin discus, table, from Latin, discus, quoit; see disk.]
Tai   (tī)   
n.   pl. Tai or Tais also Dai or Dais
  1. A family of languages spoken in southeast Asia and southern China that includes Thai, Lao, and Shan.
  2. A member of any of the Tai-speaking peoples of Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, China, and Vietnam.
  3. Thai.
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to Tai, its speakers, or their culture.
  2. Thai.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Dais

Da"is\ (d[=a]"[i^]s), n. [OE. deis, des, table, dais, OF. deis table, F. dais a canopy, L. discus a quoit, a dish (from the shape), LL., table, fr. Gr. ? a quoit, a dish. See Dish.]

1. The high or principal table, at the end of a hall, at which the chief guests were seated; also, the chief seat at the high table. [Obs.]

2. A platform slightly raised above the floor of a hall or large room, giving distinction to the table and seats placed upon it for the chief guests.

3. A canopy over the seat of a person of dignity. [Obs.] --Shiply.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : dais
Spanish: dosel,
German: der Baldachin,
Japanese: 天蓋
More Translations »

dais 
c.1259, 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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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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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