ROSTRUM. A Latin word which literally means the beak or bill of a bird, and figuratively the prow of a vessel. There was in a public place in ancient Rome, a tribunal ornamented with various prows of ships, which the Romans had taken from the Antiati. The orators who harangued the people in public, mounted this rostrum. Hence the Roman phrase: To speak from above the rostra or prows.
ROUAGE, Fr. The wheel-work of a carriage, &c.
Bois de Rouage, Fr. Timber to make wheels with.
ROUANNE, Fr. A concave iron instrument, which is used for the purpose of enlarging the hollow of a pump. It likewise signifies a mark. An auger.
ROUANNER, Fr. To bore; also to make casks.
ROUE, Fr. a licensed libertine. One whose principles of morality are considerably relaxed, but who is not sufficiently vitiated in his manners to be excluded from society. The French make a familiar use of the term, and do not affix any degree of stigma to it. They say, on the contrary, c’est un aimable roué, he is an agreeable gay fellow.
ROUE, Fr. Wheel.
Roue de feu, Fr. An artificial firework. See [Soleil Tournant].
Rouet, Fr. A small solid wheel made of steel, which was formerly fixed to the pans of blunderbusses and pistols, for the purpose of firing them off.
Arquebuses et Pistolets à Rouet, Fr. Blunderbusses and pistols to which a small wheel was attached. These firearms are very little known; some, however, are still to be found in European arsenals, kept merely for curiosity.