Atripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting theweight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads as well as horizontalshear forces, and better leverage for resisting tipping over due to lateral forces can be achieved by spreading the legs away from the vertical centre.Variations with one, two, and four legs are termedmonopod,bipod, andquadripod (similar to atable).
First attested in English in the early 17th century, the wordtripod comes viaLatintripodis (GEN oftripus),[1][2] which is theromanization ofGreekτρίπους (tripous), "three-footed" (GENτρίποδος,tripodos),[3] ultimately fromτρι- (tri-), "three times"[4] (fromτρία,tria, "three")[5] +πούς (pous), "foot".[6] The earliest attested form of the word is theMycenaean Greek𐀴𐀪𐀠,ti-ri-po, written inLinear B syllabic script.[7]
Many cultures, including the ancient peoples ofChina andGreece, used tripods asornaments,trophies, sacrificialaltars, cooking vessels or cauldrons, and decorative ceramic pottery. Tripod pottery have been part of the archaeological assemblage in China since the earliest Neolithic cultures ofCishan andPeiligang in the 7th and 8th millennia BC.[8] Sacrificial tripods were found in use in ancientChina usually cast in bronze but sometimes appearing in ceramic form.[9] They are often referred to as "dings" and usually have three legs, but in some usages have four legs.
The Chinese use sacrificial tripods symbolically in modern times, such as in 2005, when a "National Unity Tripod" made of bronze was presented by the central Chinese government to the government of northwest China'sXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to mark its fiftieth birthday. It was described as a traditional Chinese sacrificial vessel symbolizing unity.[10]
In ancient Greece, tripods were frequently used to supportlebes, or cauldrons, sometimes for cooking and other uses such as supporting vases.
Tripods are commonly used on machine guns to provide a stable mount for the weapon when firing.[11]
Tripods are generally restricted to heavier weapons where the weight would be an encumbrance. For lighter weapons such asrifles, abipod is more common. However, in recent timestripod saddles have become popular for precision rifle shooting sports, with the weapon placed in avise-like rest which is mounted to atripod head[12][13] or with the weapon mounted directly to the tripod head.
The astronomical tripod is a sturdy three-leg stand used to support telescopes or binoculars, though they may also be used to support attached cameras or ancillary equipment. The astronomical tripod is normally fitted with analtazimuth orequatorial mount to assist in tracking celestial bodies.[14][15]
The dictionary definition oftripod at Wiktionary
Media related toTripods at Wikimedia Commons