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A tripod is a three-legged stand that holds a piece of equipment steady. Most often it is for a camera: you screw the camera onto the top, spread the three legs, and the picture comes out sharp even in low light or during a long exposure. But the word covers any three-legged support — for a telescope, a microphone, a surveyor's instrument, a stage light, even an old cooking pot over a fire.
A tripod三腳架 is是 a three-legged stand that holds a piece of equipment steady用三隻腳撐著、把器材固定穩住的架子. Most often it is for a camera最常見的是用來架相機: you screw the camera onto the top, spread the three legs把相機鎖在頂端，撐開三隻腳, and the picture comes out sharp even in low light or during a long exposure就算光線不足或長時間曝光，拍出來的照片也還是清晰. But the word covers any three-legged support不過這個字泛指任何三腳的支架: for a telescope, a microphone, a surveyor's instrument, a stage light像是望遠鏡、麥克風、測量儀器、舞台燈, even an old cooking pot over a fire甚至是架在火上的舊式煮鍋
Why three legs and not four? Three points always touch the ground at once, so a tripod does not wobble on uneven ground the way a four-legged stand does; this is worth telling a student, because it explains why the shape has survived for thousands of years.
Why three legs and not four?為什麼是三隻腳，不是四隻？ Three points always touch the ground at once三個點會同時碰到地面, so a tripod does not wobble on uneven ground the way a four-legged stand does所以三腳架在不平的地面上不會像四腳架那樣搖晃; this is worth telling a student這點值得跟學生說明, because it explains why the shape has survived for thousands of years因為這解釋了這個形狀為什麼能流傳好幾千年
In everyday speech, the word is so ordinary among photographers that it works as a verb-ish noun: 'I'll shoot it on a tripod.' The little one you stand on a table is a tabletop tripod, and the flexible-legged kind is usually called by its brand name.
In everyday speech, the word is so ordinary among photographers that it works as a verb-ish noun日常口語裡，這個字在攝影師之間太常用了，用法有點像動詞化的名詞: 'I'll shoot it on a tripod.'像是「我會用腳架拍」. The little one you stand on a table is a tabletop tripod放在桌上用的小型款叫做tabletop tripod, and the flexible-legged kind is usually called by its brand name腳可以彎折的那種通常直接叫它的品牌名
組成From Greek tripous, tripodos, literally 'three-footed': tri- 'three' + pous, pod- 'foot'. It came into English through Latin. The same Greek 'foot' turns up in a surprising number of words.
原始詞典資料6 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
tripodnoun/ˈtɹaɪpɒd/
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A three-legged stand or mount.
- Cameras often have tripod attachments, which help when taking steady photographs.
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biologynatural-scienceszoologyAn organism with three limbs.
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literaturemediapublishingA fictional three-legged Martian war machine from H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds (1897).
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slanglifestylesexsexualitySomeone with a very large penis.
tripodverb/ˈtɹaɪpɒd/
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To enter the tripod position showing signs of exhaustion or distress.
- I tripodded after my 6-mile run.
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biologyherpetologynatural-sciencesOf a lizard, to raise its body upright bracing itself on hind legs and tail.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。