Victory Parade in London, England, UK, 8 June 1946 D27870

A dais or daïs ( or , American English also but sometimes considered nonstandard)dais
in the Random House Dictionarydais
in Oxford Dictionaries Online
in the American Heritage DictionaryMerriam-Webster Online - Dais
/ref> is a raised platform at the front of a room or hall, usually for one or more speakers or honored guests. Historically, the dais was a part of the

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...

at the end of a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

, raised a step above the rest of the room. On this, the master of the household or assembly (e.g. the

lord of the manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seig ...

) dined with his senior associates and friends at the high table, while the other guests occupied the lower area of the room. In medieval halls, there was generally a deeply recessed

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. Types Bay window is a generic term for all protruding window constructions, regardless of whether they are curved or angular, or r ...

at one or both ends of the dais, which provided retirement or greater privacy than the open hall. The dais area often had its own doorway for admission from the master's chambers, whereas most of the guests entered through a doorway leading into the main area of the hall. At military parades, the dais is the raised, sometimes covered, platform from where the troops are reviewed, addresses are made, and salutes are taken. It can also have stairs and a throne. In life drawing rooms of art schools, the platform where the model poses for the students is sometimes referred to as the dais. A dais for giving

speeches This list of speeches includes those that have gained notability in English or in English translation. The earliest listings may be approximate dates. Before the 1st century *c.570 BC : Gautama Buddha gives his first sermon at Sarnath *431 ...

is called a rostrum.

Etymology

The first written record of the word ''dais'' in English is from the thirteenth century. It stopped being used in English around 1600 but was revived by antiquarians in the early 19th century with the disyllabic pronunciation. It comes from the Anglo-French ''deis'', meaning "table" or "platform", which comes from Medieval Latin ''discus'', meaning "table", earlier "disc" or "dish".

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External links

* Floors Interior design {{architecturalelement-stub

Etymology

See also

References

External links