triptych
Americannoun
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Fine Arts. a set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like.
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a hinged, three-leaved tablet, written on, in ancient times, with a stylus.
noun
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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
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a set of three hinged writing tablets
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Queer desire, femininity, and lipstick form an intrepid triptych in the form of pop star Chappell Roan, whose persona betrays both her rural Missouri provenance and the glittery legacy of drag performance.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
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 • Dec. 24, 2025
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 • Dec. 22, 2025
Experts identified the triptych as the only surviving work of an unknown painter who was active in Brussels.
From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025
Various tilts of the head to catch perspectives in triptych reassured her that her face was not too long, or not this evening.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
