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

Chew was invited by the president-elect's team and will sit on the dais in front of the Capitol where Trump will be sworn in as president. —Rebecca Shabad, NBC News, 16 Jan. 2025

There are complicating variables attached to all of these options, but TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s expected presence on the dais for Trump’s inauguration on Monday is a sign there is still hope for the platform. —Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2025

On Monday, tech CEOs including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, and Mark Zuckerberg are expected to attend Trump’s inauguration, seated in a position of honor on the dais alongside former presidents and family members. —Jess Weatherbed, The Verge, 16 Jan. 2025

Carollo has already engaged in a shouting match on the dais with Gabela, who refused to back down. —Linda Robertson, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 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

Kids Definition

dais

noun

da·​is ˈdā-əs 

: a raised platform (as in a large room)