A tripod is a portable three-legged frame, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The word comes from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 tripous, meaning "three feet". A tripod provides stability against downward forces, horizontal forces and moments about the vertical axis. The positioning of the three feet away from the vertical centre allows the tripod better leverage for resisting lateral forces.