rostrum

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*Hreh₃d-
2. Latin · learned borrowing fromrōstrum“beak, snout”
3. English todayrostrum

Learned borrowing from Latin rōstrum (“beak, snout”), from rōd(ō) (“gnaw”) + -trum, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreh₃d- + *-trom. The pulpit sense is a back-formation from the name of the Roman Rōstra, the platforms in the Forum where politicians made speeches. The Rōstra were decorated with (and named for) the beaks (prows) of ships from naval victories.

Words from the same roots