Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Tripod
/ˈtraɪpɑd/noun
A three-legged stand for a camera, instrument or vessel.
The Greek roots
τρι-
tri-
three
πούς
poús
foot
Literally: “three-footed”
The story of the word
Bronze tripod cauldrons were the standard high-value prize in Homer, handed out at funeral games and dedicated by the hundred at sanctuaries, so the word meant wealth as much as furniture. At Delphi the Pythia delivered oracles seated on one. The physical reason the shape survived into photography is geometry: three feet always touch the ground, which is why four-legged tables rock and tripods never do.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
podiumoctopusantipodespodiatry
In a sentence
She levelled the tripod on the scree and waited for the light.
The bronze tripod from the sanctuary stands a metre and a half high.