Trivets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Metal stands that hold hot pots or dishes off a table surface ; three-legged supports set over a hearth to hold cooking vessels
2. Heat-resistant rests on which hot pans or kettles are placed to protect a table ; tripod frames that hold pots above an open fire
3. Small footed plates or frames used to set hot cookware on ; sturdy three-legged racks positioned over flames to support pots

Etymology: "Trivets" is the plural of "trivet," a word that once described a three-legged stand rather than a flat plate. Its ancestor is Latin "tripēs," "tripedis," meaning "three-footed" or "tripod," built from "tres" (three) and "pes" (foot). The Latin word passed into Old English as "trefet," which then developed into Middle English "trevet." The name recorded the object's defining feature: three legs holding a pot or vessel steady over a fire. Over time the stand shed its third leg in many designs, and the name stayed with the job rather than the count. A trivet today is a flat metal or ceramic frame set on a table to protect it from hot dishes, so the word now describes a heat-resistant support whose number of legs no longer matters.

Synonyms: stand, rack