Skip to content

tripod

adjective

  1. having or resting upon three feet or legs; three-footed, three-legged; of the form of a tripod
L1408181 on Wikidata ↗

noun

  1. device used to support any one of a number of surveying instruments
  2. a three-legged stand (as for a camera)
  3. a stool, table, or altar with three legs
  4. a vessel (such as a cauldron) resting on three legs
L329624 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈtɹaɪpɑd/ / /ˈtɹaɪpɒd/

noun

Etymology: PIE word *tréyes Borrowed from Latin tripūs, tripodis, from Ancient Greek τρίπους (trípous); equivalent to tri- + -pod. Doublet of tripus and teapoy.

  1. A three-legged stand,mount or organism

    “Recent cell phones offer tripod attachments to take steady photographs.”

  2. A fictional three-legged Martian war machine from H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds (1897).
  3. A man with macrophallism.

verb

Etymology: PIE word *tréyes Borrowed from Latin tripūs, tripodis, from Ancient Greek τρίπους (trípous); equivalent to tri- + -pod. Doublet of tripus and teapoy.

  1. To enter the tripod position showing signs of exhaustion or distress.

    “I tripodded after my 6-mile run.”

  2. Of a lizard, to raise its body upright bracing itself on hind legs and tail.