polyptych

[ pol-ip-tik ]

noun
  1. a work of art composed of several connected panels.

Origin of polyptych

1
1855–60; special use of Late Latin polyptychum<Greek polýptychon a register, roll, noun use of neuter of polýptychos having many folds. See poly-, diptych, triptych

Words Nearby polyptych

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use polyptych in a sentence

  • The centre-piece of the Ghent polyptych, in the Cathedral of that town.

    Van Eyck | James Cyril M. Weale
  • It is difficult to think that he can be answerable for it when we compare it with the Piet over the polyptych at Perugia.

    Pintoricchio | Evelyn March Phillipps

British Dictionary definitions for polyptych

polyptych

/ (ˈpɒlɪptɪk) /


noun
  1. an altarpiece consisting of more than three panels, set with paintings or carvings, and usually hinged for folding: Compare diptych, triptych

Origin of polyptych

1
C19: via Late Latin from Greek poluptuchon something folded many times, from poly- + ptuchē a fold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012