Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PUL'PIT, n. [L. pulpitum, a stage, scaffold, or higher part of a stage; It. and Sp. pulpito; Fr. pupitre.]

1. An elevated place or inclosed stage in a church, in which the preacher stands. It is called also a desk.
2. In the Roman theater, the pulpitum was the place where the players performed their parts, lower than the scena and higher than the orchestra. – Encyc.
3. A movable desk, from which disputants pronounced their dissertations, and authors recited their works. – Encyc.