tripod

Etymology

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

noun

1. A three-legged stand or mount.
   Recent cell phones offer tripod attachments to take steady photographs.
2. (science fiction) A fictional three-legged Martian war machine from H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds (1897).
3. (slang) A man with macrophallism.

verb

1. (intransitive) To enter the tripod position showing signs of exhaustion or distress.
   I tripodded after my 6-mile run.
2. (entomology, intransitive) Of a lizard, to raise its body upright bracing itself on hind legs and tail.