triptych

American  

[trip-tik] / ˈtrɪp tɪk /

noun

1. Fine Arts. a set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like.

2. a hinged, three-leaved tablet, written on, in ancient times, with a stylus.

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triptych British  

/ ˈtrɪptɪk /

noun

1. a set of three pictures or panels, usually hinged so that the two wing panels fold over the larger central one: often used as an altarpiece

2. a set of three hinged writing tablets

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Etymology

Origin of triptych

1725–35; < Greek tríptychos of three plates, equivalent to tri- tri- + ptych- (stem of ptýx ) plate + -os adj. suffix

Example Sentences

This is a job where you rent your first home, not buy, and don’t even bother to get a couch or hang your triptych of dogs playing blackjack on the wall.

From The Wall Street Journal

Lanthimos and Stone have now made four features together, though the three joke it’s more like six because “Kinds of Kindness” is a triptych.

From Los Angeles Times

The director has reunited with Mr. Waits and Mr. Driver for the first and best part of his characteristic new film, the triptych “Father Mother Sister Brother.”

From The Wall Street Journal

An exquisitely photographed, black-and-white triptych set in Cuba, this unsung gem portrays the hopes of those with a chance to escape their challenging conditions and the anguish of the ones left behind.

From Los Angeles Times

In this triptych, Marat’s martyrdom is a muted centerpiece between grand hope and grander disaster.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• threesome
• trilogy
• triumvirate