Tribune is an ambiguous – and often misused – architectural term, which can have several meanings. Today, it most often refers to a dais or stage-like platform or, in a vaguer sense, any place from which a speech can be prominently made.

Etymology

The English term tribune ("raised platform") was derived as early as 1762 from French (tribune) and Italian (tribuna) words. These in turn stemmed from Medieval Latin tribuna and from Classical Latin tribunal, the elevated placing of a tribune's (or other Roman magistrate's) seat for official functions in the manner of a throne.

Meanings