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 of dais

• podium

Examples of dais in a Sentence

the speaker took his place at the front of the dais

Recent Examples on the Web

Honorary female members such as Phyllis Diller, Barbra Streisand and Lucille Ball were ruling the dais until 1988, when women like Liza Minnelli, Elizabeth Taylor and Carol Burnett were granted official membership. —Richard Johnson, New York Daily News, 22 Feb. 2026

The decision came after more than two hours of public comments, presentations from the developer and the opposition, and discussion on the dais. —Catherine Odom february 19, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2026

Moving all council desks slightly forward so that there is enough space behind the dais for a wheelchair to move freely. —Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2026

At the Olympic media summit in October, a collection of athletes from across the sports spectrum took turns sitting at small daises to field questions from reporters on hand. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 16 Feb. 2026

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)