Main Entry: ros·trum

Pronunciation: \ˈräs-trəm also ˈrȯs-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural ros·tra \-trə\ or rostrums

Etymology: Latin, beak, ship's beak, from rodere to gnaw — more at rodent

Date: 1542

1 [Latin Rostra, plural, a platform for speakers in the Roman Forum decorated with the beaks of captured ships, from plural of rostrum] a : an ancient Roman platform for public orators b : a stage for public speaking c : a raised platform on a stage
2 : the curved end of a ship's prow; especially : the beak of a war galley
3 : a bodily part or process suggesting a bird's bill: as a : the beak, snout, or proboscis of any of various insects or arachnids b : the often spinelike anterior median prolongation of the carapace of a crustacean (as a crayfish or lobster)