a small raised platform that a person stands on to make a speech, conduct music, receive a prize, etc. 讲坛；指挥台；领奖台 He climbed on to the winner’s rostrum. 他爬上胜利者的讲台。
Word Originmid 16th cent.: 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.
