tripos

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: tri=pos

CIDE DICTIONARY

tripos, n. [Gr. a tripod. See Tripod.].

•  A tripod.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  A university examination of questionists, for honors; also, a tripos paper; one who prepares a tripos paper.  [1913 Webster]

Classical tripos examination, the final university examination for classical honors, optional to all who have taken the mathematical honors. C. A. Bristed. -- Tripos paper, a printed list of the successful candidates for mathematical honors, accompanied by a piece in Latin verse. There are two of these, designed to commemorate the two tripos days. The first contains the names of the wranglers and senior optimes, and the second the names of the junior optimes. The word tripos is supposed to refer to the three-legged stool formerly used at the examinations for these honors, though some derive it from the three brackets formerly printed on the back of the paper. C. A. Bristed.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

tripos, n. Brit. (at Cambridge University) the honours examination for the BA degree.

Etymology

as TRIPOD, with ref. to the stool on which graduates sat to deliver a satirical speech at the degree ceremony