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.

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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

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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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diptych

The collection was later recovered by Allied forces and given to the Dutch government, with the diptych being sold to the Norton Simon in 1971.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

The diptych – an artwork spread across two panels – shows the Good on the left and the Bad on the right.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

“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.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

But the black cat who gazes outward from the bottom of a diptych just emphasizes the spectator's essential solitude.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2023

Two of our pictures, the Richard II. diptych and the Edward VI. of Holbein, were in his collection, besides many we have mentioned, such as Holbein's 'Erasmus,' Raphael's cartoons, and Mantegna's 'Triumph of Cæsar.'

From The Book of Art for Young People by Agnes Ethel Conway

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