dais

Meaning

1. A raised platform in a room for a high table, a seat of honour, a throne, or other dignified occupancy, such as ancestral statues; a similar platform supporting a lectern, pulpit, etc., which may be used to speak from.
2. A bench, a settle, a pew.
3. (obsolete) An elevated table in a hall at which important people were seated; a high table.
4. The canopy over an altar, etc.

Synonyms

platform

rostrum

podium

pulpit

stage

raised platform

ambo

stand

stump

place of honor

pedestal

soapbox

pial

alcove

duckrun

base

eminence

footstall

height

place of honour

rising ground

scaffold

speaker’s platform

raised part of floor

upper tier

estrade

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈdeɪ.ɪs/

Etymology

From Middle English deis, from Anglo-Norman deis, from Old French deis, dois (modern French dais), from Latin discum, accusative singular of discus (“discus, disc, quoit; dish”) (Late Latin discum (“table”)), from Ancient Greek δίσκος (dískos, “discus, disc; tray”), from δικεῖν (dikeîn, “to cast, to throw; to strike”). Cognate with Italian desco, Occitan des. Doublet of desk, disc, discus, dish, disk, and diskos.