ros·trum (rŏs'trəm, rô'strəm)
n., pl., ros·trums, or ros·tra (rŏs'trə, rô'strə).

1. A dais, pulpit, or other elevated platform for public speaking.
2. 1. The curved, beaklike prow of an ancient Roman ship, especially a war galley.
   2. The speaker's platform in an ancient Roman forum, which was decorated with the prows of captured enemy ships.
3. Biology. A beaklike or snoutlike projection.

[Latin rōstrum, beak.]

rostral ros'tral (-trəl) adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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