diptych

[dip-tik]

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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of diptych¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of diptych¹

C17: from Greek diptukhos folded together, from _di ¹ + ptukhos fold; compare _triptych

Example Sentences

The play, a diptych, has a second act in which the same actors play the roles of the parents of their first-act characters.

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

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

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In front of Eirik Johnson’s photo diptychs, you wonder: Does snow — a thick, muffling blanket devoid of color — obscure or reveal?

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“Here We Are,” which is constructed as a musical diptych, stitches together two unrelated yet thematically resonant Buñuel films, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “The Exterminating Angel.”

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