Rostrum

ros′trum, n. in ancient Rome, an erection for public speakers in the Forum, adorned with the beaks or heads of ships taken in war: the platform from which a speaker addre es his audience: the snout of an animal, or the beak of a bird: the beak of a ship, an ancient form of ram:— pl. Ros′trums , Ros′tra .— adjs. Ros′tral , like a rostrum or beak; Ros′trāte , -d , beaked.— n.pl. Rostrif′era , a suborder of gasteropods, with contractile rostrum or snout.— adjs. Rostrif′erous , having a rostrum; Ros′triform , shaped like a rostrum; Ros′tro-anten′nary , pertaining to the rostrum and antennæ of a crustacean; Ros′troid , resembling a rostrum; Rostrolat′eral , situated alongside the rostrum.— n. Ros′trulum , the mouth part of a flea. [L. rostrum , the beak— rodĕre , rosum , to gnaw.]