rostrum
noun
[ ˈrɒstrəm ]
• a raised platform on which a person stands to make a public speech, receive an award or medal, play music, or conduct an orchestra.
• "speaker after speaker stepped up to the rostrum"
• a beaklike projection, especially a stiff snout or anterior prolongation of the head in an insect, crustacean, or cetacean.
• "these beetles are very easily recognized by the rostrum or beak"
Origin:
mid 16th century: from Latin, literally ‘beak’ (from rodere ‘gnaw’). The word was originally used (at first in the plural rostra ) to denote part of the Forum in Rome, which was decorated with the beaks of captured galleys, and was used as a platform for public speakers.
