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

• podium

Examples of dais in a Sentence

the speaker took his place at the front of the dais

Recent Examples on the Web

The Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Before the city council voted to temporarily suspend the anti-discrimination law, nearly a dozen residents spoke in front of the dais disapproving the action. —Rachel Royster september 2, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2025

The film, premiering in competition on Sunday night, features Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Moore and Luka Sabbat, all of whom joined Blanchett on the dais. —Alex Ritman, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025

And at the festival’s opening ceremony Wednesday night, Coppola took to the dais to champion his longtime friend, the German filmmaker Werner Herzog, recipient of the festival’s honorary Golden Lion for lifetime achievement. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 27 Aug. 2025

During Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Inga Selders – who helped bring this discussion back to the dais – supported a stricter noise ordinance. —Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for dais

• ablaze
• airways
• allays
• always
• amaze
• anglaise
• appraise
• archways
• arrays
• ashtrays
• assays
• ballets

Kids Definition

dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

: a raised platform (as in a large room)