The noses. Rostrum canum. Plin. A dogges snoute. Ceruorum. Plin. The nose or snoute. Delphinorum. Plin. The beake of, &c. Draconum piscium. Plin. Suum. Plin. A hogges snoute. Testudinum piscium. Plin. Tragelaphorum. Plin. Acutum rostrum. Pli. A sharpe beake. Aduncum. Virg. Aptum rapinæ rostrum. Ouid. Corneum rostrum, Vide corneus in CORNV. Ipsa sibi plaudat crepitante ciconia rostro. Ouid. Durum. Ouid. Mucronatum. Pli. Obuncum rostrum vulturis. Vir. Pandum rostrum. Ouid. Reduncum. Ouid. Rigidum. Ouid. Cibum terrestrem rostris facilè contingere, Ci. Exacuere spicula rostris. Virgil. To whette their beakes or bils. Prominet immodicum rostrum. Ouid. Nauium rostra. Pli. The stemmes of ships. Erepta rostra carinis. Virg. Aequor dehiscit conuulsum remis & stridentibus rostris. Virg. Rostra. Li. A place in Rome afore the court Hostilia, wherin was the pulpit in which orators used to stand whÊ they spake vnto the people. It was so called of the stemmes of ships taken in pray which for a shew wer set vp in % place Ascendere in rostra. Li. To go vp to the pulpit to speake vnto the people. Deducere de Rostris, Vide DEDVCO. Quum Vectius perorasset, descendissétque de Rostris. Cic. And had come downe out of the pulpit. In rostris statuam alicui statuere. Ci.

I. Lit.: cibum arripere aduncitate rostrorum, Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 122: aves corneo proceroque rostro, id. ib. 1, 36, 101; Liv. 41, 13; Ov. M. 2, 376; 5, 545; 6, 673 et saep. al.: arietes tortis cornibus pronis ad rostrum, Varr. R. R. 2, 2, 4; of goats, id. ib. 2, 3, 2; of swine, Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23; 2, 21, 48; Ov. M. 8, 371; 10, 713; 14, 282; of dogs, id. ib. 1, 536; 3, 249; of wolves, Plin. 28, 10, 44, 157; of stags, id. 8, 32, 50, 112; of a dolphin, id. 9, 8, 7, 20; of tortoises, id. 9, 10, 12, 37; of bees, id. 11, 10, 10, 21 et saep.—

B. In familiar or contemptuous lang., like our muzzle, snout, of persons, Lucil. ap. Fest. s. v. squarrosi, p. 329 Müll.; Plaut. Men. 1, 1, 13; Lucil., Nov., and Varr. ap. Non. 455, 10 sq.; Petr. 75, 10; so, too, of human statues, Dig. 19, 1, 17 fin.—

II. Transf.

A. In gen., of objects having a similar shape, the curved point of a vine-dresser's billhook, Col. 4, 25, 1; of a plough, Plin. 18, 18, 48, 171; of hammers, id. 34, 14, 41, 144; of lamps, id. 28, 11, 46, 163; of an island, id. 10, 33, 49, 137.—

B. Esp. freq., the curved end of a ship's prow, a ship's beak; sing.: neque his (navibus) nostrae rostro nocere poterant, Caes. B. G. 3, 13; so id. ib. 3, 14; id. B. C. 2, 6; Liv. 28, 30; 37, 30; Verg. A. 10, 157; 301: navis, cui argenteum aut aureum rostrum est, Sen. Ep. 76, 13; Ov. M. 4, 705 al. —Plur., Auct. B. Alex. 44, 3; 46, 2.—Sometimes of a triple form: convolsum remis rostrisque tridentibus aequor, Verg. A. 5, 143; cf. Val. Fl. 1, 688: rostrum trifidum, Sil. 6, 358.—Hence,

C. Rostra, the Rostra, a stage or platform for speakers in the Forum, so called from being adorned with the beaks of ships taken from the Antians A.U.C. 416, Liv. 8, 14; Varr. L. L. 5, 155 Müll.; Plin. 34, 5, 11, 20; Ascon. Mil. p. 43 Orell.; cf. Becker, Antiq. I. p. 279 sq. and p. 290; and, in gen., the place from which the assembled people were addressed, the orator's pulpit, or platform: ut semper in rostris curiam, in senatu populum defenderim, Cic. Pis. 3, 7: ut in rostris prius quam in senatu litterae recitarentur, Liv. 27, 50 fin.: in rostra escendere, Cic. Off. 3, 20, 80; Liv. 30, 17: descendere ad rostra, Suet. Vit. 15: procedere in rostra, Plin. Pan. 65, 3: cum Vettius descendisset de rostris, Cic. Vatin. 11, 26; cf.: aliquem de rostris deducere, Caes. B. C. 3, 21: rem a subselliis ad rostra detulit, Cic. Clu. 40, 111: caput Sulpicii erectum et ostentatum pro rostris, Vell. 2, 19, 1; cf.: aliquem defunctum laudare e more pro rostris (v. pro, II. 2.), Suet. Caes. 6; so, pro rostris, id. ib. 17; 20; 79; 84; id. Aug. 100; id. Tib. 6; id. Calig. 10; id. Claud. 22; id. Ner. 47; Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 15, 3; Tac. A. 3, 5; 76; 4, 12; 5, 1; for which: laudavit ipse apud rostra formam ejus, id. ib. 16, 6: frigidus a rostris manat per compita rumor, Hor. S. 2, 6, 50.—Sing.: tenere rostrum, Luc. 1, 275: rostrum forumque optare, id. 7, 65.—Poet.: campumque et rostra movebat, i. e. the assembled people, Luc. 8, 685.