podium

podium = (1) a low wall serving as an architectural foundation; (2) a raised platform that a speaker or orchestra conductor stands on; dais; or (3) a stand for holding a speaker’s notes; lectern. Sense 3, once widely condemned as a misuse, has become commonplace. But careful writers tend to avoid it—e.g.:

• “Verne Lundquist and Pat Haden work the game, which is fine, as long as they don’t pull a stunt like last week’s ‘debate,’ in which they stood behind podiums [read lecterns] and discussed the merits of the Houston–Cincinnati game minutes before the presidential debate.” Bill Goodykoontz, “With Irvin Back, Cowboys Serve Up Tough Test for Cards,” Ariz. Republic, 13 Oct. 1996, at F3.
• “ ‘My day started optimistically enough at 6:30 this morning,’ says the tall, ethereally pale novelist [Joyce Carol Oates] as she arranges her notes at the podium [read lectern].” Robin Vaughn, “A Quick Read on the Art of Style,” Boston Herald, 27 June 1997, at S24.
• “Moving out from behind the podium [read lectern] allows . . . more of a connection between the speaker and the audience.” Raymond Greenlaw, Technical Writing, Presentational Skills, and Online Communication 130 (2012).

       The plural is podiums or podia. Although the latter long predominated in print sources, the native-English plural is now slightly more common. See PLURALS (B).

LANGUAGE-CHANGE INDEX

podium misused for lectern: Stage 4

Current ratio in print (podiums vs. podia): 1.2:1

Have a usage query? Professor Garner has probably covered it in his newest edition of Garner’s Modern English Usage (5th ed. 2022), published by Oxford University Press. Once you take a peek, you’ll fall into the world of usage as you delve deeper into the book.

Or a legal-usage query? Check out his Garner’s Dictionary of Legal Usage (3d ed. 2011), also published by Oxford.

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