the.com/trivet

means A small stand, usually metal or wood with short legs, placed under a hot dish or pot to protect a table or countertop from heat.

from From Old English 'trefet,' itself probably from Latin 'tripes' meaning 'three-footed' (from 'tri-,' three, and 'pes,' foot) — a nod to the classic three-legged design that lets a trivet sit steady on any surface. The number was so baked into the word that 'right as a trivet,' an old phrase for something perfectly stable, leans on that sturdy three-legged stance.