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

• platform
• podium
• rostrum
• stage
• stand
• tribune

Examples of dais in a Sentence

the speaker took his place at the front of the dais

Recent Examples on the Web

Guthrie’s black-and-white nameplate, which had a place on the dais for more than a decade, was removed Tuesday night. —Matt Hubbard, Baltimore Sun, 20 Nov. 2024

Norby talks about the fact that there’s discord up on the dais. —Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2024

Eric Berger, a senior editor for Ars Technica who was there, wrote on X that two chairs had been removed from the dais shortly before the briefing began. —Denise Chow, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2024

Also, longtime Mayor Steve Jones has reached the limit for terms leading on the dais. —Jonathan Horwitz, Orange County Register, 5 Nov. 2024

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

Kids Definition

dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

: a raised platform (as in a large room)