rostrum

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
rostrum
    n 1: a platform raised above the surrounding level to give
         prominence to the person on it [syn: {dais}, {podium},
         {pulpit}, {rostrum}, {ambo}, {stump}, {soapbox}]
    2: beaklike projection of the anterior part of the head of
       certain insects such as e.g. weevils [syn: {snout},
       {rostrum}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Snout \Snout\ (snout), n. [OE. snoute, probably of Scand, or Low
   German origin; cf. LG. snute, D. snuit, G. schnauze, Sw.
   snut, snyte, Dan. snude, Icel. sn?ta to blow the nose;
   probably akin to E. snuff, v.t. Cf. {Snite}, {Snot},
   {Snuff}.]
   1. The long, projecting nose of a beast, as of swine.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The nose of a man; -- in contempt. --Hudibras.
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   3. The nozzle of a pipe, hose, etc.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. (Zool.)
      (a) The anterior prolongation of the head of a gastropod;
          -- called also {rostrum}.
      (b) The anterior prolongation of the head of weevils and
          allied beetles.
          [1913 Webster]

   {Snout beetle} (Zool.), any one of many species of beetles
      having an elongated snout and belonging to the tribe
      Rhynchophora; a weevil.

   {Snout moth} (Zool.), any pyralid moth. See {Pyralid}.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Rostrum \Ros"trum\ (-tr[u^]m), n.; pl. L. {Rostra}, E.
   {Rostrums}. [L., beak, ship's beak, fr. rodere, rosum, to
   gnaw. See {Rodent}.]
   1. The beak or head of a ship.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. pl. ({Rostra}) (Rom. Antiq.) The Beaks; the stage or
      platform in the forum where orations, pleadings, funeral
      harangues, etc., were delivered; -- so called because
      after the Latin war, it was adorned with the beaks of
      captured vessels; later, applied also to other platforms
      erected in Rome for the use of public orators.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Hence, a stage for public speaking; the pulpit or platform
      occupied by an orator or public speaker.
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            Myself will mount the rostrum in his favor.
                                                  --Addison.
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   4. (Zool.)
      (a) Any beaklike prolongation, esp. of the head of an
          animal, as the beak of birds.
      (b) The beak, or sucking mouth parts, of Hemiptera.
      (c) The snout of a gastropod mollusk. See Illust. of
          {Littorina}.
      (d) The anterior, often spinelike, prolongation of the
          carapace of a crustacean, as in the lobster and the
          prawn.
          [1913 Webster]

   5. (Bot.) Same as {Rostellum}.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Old Chem.) The pipe to convey the distilling liquor into
      its receiver in the common alembic. --Quincy.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Surg.) A pair of forceps of various kinds, having a
      beaklike form. [Obs.] --Coxe.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906)
ROSTRUM, n.  In Latin, the beak of a bird or the prow of a ship.  In
America, a place from which a candidate for office energetically
expounds the wisdom, virtue and power of the rabble.
    
from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
61 Moby Thesaurus words for "rostrum":
      ambo, antlia, balcony, beak, beezer, bill, bow, bowsprit, bugle,
      catafalque, conk, dais, desk, emplacement, estrade, figurehead,
      floor, forecastle, foredeck, forepeak, gallery, heliport, hustings,
      jib boom, landing, landing pad, landing stage, launching pad,
      lectern, muffle, muzzle, nares, neb, nib, nose, nostrils, nozzle,
      olfactory organ, pecker, platform, podium, proboscis, prore, prow,
      pulpit, reading desk, rhinarium, schnozzle, smeller, snoot, snout,
      soapbox, stage, stand, stem, step terrace, stump, terrace,
      tribunal, tribune, trunk

    

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