Tripos

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Tripos \Tri"pos\, n.; pl. {Triposes}. [Gr. ? a tripod. See
     {Tripod}.]
     1. A tripod. [Obs.] --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A university examination of questionists, for honors;


        also, a tripos paper; one who prepares a tripos paper.
        [Cambridge University, Eng.]
        [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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  tripos
       n : final honors degree examinations at Cambridge University