po ‧ di ‧ um /ˈpəʊdiəm $ ˈpoʊ-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: Greek podion , from pous 'foot' ]
1 . a small raised area for a performer, speaker, or musical ↑ conductor to stand on
2 . American English a high sloping surface for putting an open book or notes on while you are giving a speech to a lot of people – some people think that this use is incorrect SYN lectern :
Several speakers took the podium (=spoke from it) that night.