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 stage2: the curved end of a ship's prow ; especially : the beak of a war galley3: 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)