dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

nonstandard

ˈdī- 

: a raised platform (as in a hall or large room)

Mounting the dais which had been set up for his use, he swirled the sinister cloak about him and sat down in the Abbot's chair.

—Brian Jacques

Synonyms

• platform
• podium
• rostrum
• stage
• stand
• tribune

Examples of dais in a Sentence

the speaker took his place at the front of the dais

Recent Examples on the Web

The council remains split 3-3 over who should replace her on the dais during her temporary mayoral tenure. —Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 14 May 2025

John O’Sullivan’s nameplate as village manager remained on the dais Tuesday night when the Carpentersville Village Board voted to hire Village Attorney Brad Stewart as his replacement. —Gloria Casas, Chicago Tribune, 14 May 2025

In previous years — including in 2018, during Mr. Trump’s first term — the White House press secretary attended the dinner and sat on the dais. —Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2025

What was your reaction to seeing all of those tech CEOs on the dais at Donald Trump’s inauguration? —Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English deis, des "high table, elevated platform occupied by a court or council," borrowed from Anglo-French deis, dais (continental Old French deis "table of honor set up on a platform"), going back to Medieval Latin discus "raised table, platform," going back to Latin, "discus, kind of plate, gong," borrowed from Greek dískos "discus," in Late Greek also "dish, round mirror, the sun's disk, gong" — more at discus

Note: See note at dish entry 1. The predominant form in Middle French is dois, which should have resulted in Modern French [dwa]; the reason for the outcome dais [dɛ], with the presumed shift [dwɛ] to [dɛ], is in this, as in a number of parallel cases, unclear. As pointed out by the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, the English word was, excepting Scots, out of use by 1600; the current word is an antiquarian revival, with the spelling presumably copying modern French.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dais

• ablaze
• airways
• allays
• always
• amaze
• anglaise
• appraise
• archways
• arrays
• ashtrays
• assays
• ballets

Kids Definition

dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

: a raised platform (as in a large room)