triptych

[ trip-tik ]

/ ˈtrɪp tɪk /

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noun

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

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

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Origin of triptych

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

Words nearby triptych

triptane, tripteral, tripterous, trip the light fantastic, Triptolemus, triptych, triptyque, trip up, Tripura, tripwire, triquetra

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use triptych in a sentence

And the evangelicals have been especially irked by the recent sale of a Francis Bacon triptych for an astounding $142 million.
The Myth of the Tortured Artist|Shane McAdams|January 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet each devoted his energies to matters of universal concern, and together they form a curious triptych on the mortal condition.
Three Great Men Died That Day: JFK, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley|John Garth|November 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Everything is in motion, and the triptych panels often construct a narrative, like the frames of a film do.
Art's Obsessive Genius|Paul Laster|May 20, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"The Smoker," and "Mother and Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement

There is in the Cluny Museum, in Paris, a beautiful triptych, evidently of the sixteenth century.
Needlework As Art|Marian Alford
There is also a very little triptych, with a Descent from the Cross, and an inscription on the shutters.
Some Account of Gothic Architecture in Spain|George Edmund Street
In his native town, in the church of S. Gregorio, is a triptych by him, dated 1473.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various
Among the best is a triptych in the sacristy of the Cathedral representing the birth of the Virgin.
A Popular Handbook to the National Gallery, Volume I, Foreign Schools|Various

British Dictionary definitions for triptych

triptych

/ (ˈtrɪptɪk) /

noun

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

a set of three hinged writing tablets

Word Origin for triptych

C18: from Greek triptukhos, from tri- + ptux plate; compare diptych

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

triptych

Origin of triptych

Words nearby triptych

Words related to triptych

How to use triptych in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for triptych

Word Origin for triptych