Easel vs. Tripod — What's the Difference?

An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, easels are traditionally used by painters to support a painting while they work on it, normally standing up, and are also sometimes used to display finished paintings.

A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads as well as horizontal shear forces, and better leverage for resisting tipping over due to lateral forces can be achieved by spreading the legs away from the vertical centre.

An upright frame for displaying or supporting something, such as an artist's canvas.

A three-legged object, such as a cauldron, stool, or table.

An upright frame, typically on three legs, for displaying or supporting something, such as an artist's canvas.

An adjustable three-legged stand, as for supporting a transit or camera.

A frame (commonly) of wood serving to hold a canvas upright, or nearly upright, for the painter's convenience or for exhibition.

A three-legged stand or mount.

An upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)

(science fiction) A fictional three-legged Martian war machine from H.G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds (1897).

(slang) A man with macrophallism.

(intransitive) To enter the tripod position showing signs of exhaustion or distress.

Of a lizard, to raise its body upright bracing itself on hind legs and tail.

Any utensil or vessel, as a stool, table, altar, caldron, etc., supported on three feet.

A three-legged frame or stand, usually jointed at top, for supporting a theodolite, compass, telescope, camera, or other instrument.

A three-legged rack used for support