n.
Pronunciation: ' räs-tr ə m also ' ro ̇ s-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ros · tra \ -tr ə \ 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 stage
2 : the curved end of a ship's prow especially : the beak of a war galley
3 : 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)