diptych

American  

[dip-tik] / ˈdɪp tɪk /

noun

1. a hinged two-leaved tablet used in ancient times for writing on with a stylus.

2. Usually diptychs.

   1. a similar tablet of wood or metal containing on one leaf the names of those among the living, and on the other those among the dead, for whom prayers and Masses are said.

   2. the lists of such persons.

   3. the intercession in the course of which these names were introduced.

3. a pair of pictures or carvings on two panels, usually hinged together.

---

diptych British  

/ ˈdɪptɪk /

noun

1. a pair of hinged wooden tablets with waxed surfaces for writing

2. a painting or carving on two panels, usually hinged like a book

---

Etymology

Origin of diptych

1615–25; < Late Latin diptycha writing tablet with two leaves < Greek díptycha, neuter plural of díptychos folded together, equivalent to di- di- ¹ + -ptychos, verbid of ptýssein to fold

Example Sentences

In a room at the French consul general’s, a diptych of palms as long-legged as Paris runway models.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2025

Director Mike Reilly does a lucid job of sorting out the play’s diptych structure.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 16, 2024

For Kathy Westwater’s new diptych of dances, “Revolver” and “Choreomaniacs,” the interior of the Chocolate Factory Theater has been sheathed in layers of translucent plastic, floor to ceiling.

From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023

“I didn’t want to outstay my welcome,” he said on a recent video call, from the study of his home in Portland, Ore., a black-and-white diptych of the playwright Samuel Beckett behind him.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2023

An angel was let down from the roof, and offered the king and queen a little diptych in gold, with stones and enamel representing the Crucifixion; he made also a speech.

From A Literary History of the English People From the Origins to the Renaissance by Jusserand, Jean Jules