diptych
Americannoun
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a hinged two-leaved tablet used in ancient times for writing on with a stylus.
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Usually diptychs.
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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.
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the lists of such persons.
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the intercession in the course of which these names were introduced.
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a pair of pictures or carvings on two panels, usually hinged together.
noun
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a pair of hinged wooden tablets with waxed surfaces for writing
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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
Vocabulary lists containing diptych
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.
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
In the adjacent living area, between a pair of bookcases, is a 6½-by-13-foot 2016 white-and-yellow diptych of an Italian locomotive by Matt Mullican, another of Freeman’s artists.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
“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
On the cover is an ivory diptych; in the centre, a figure of our Blessed Lord treading on 'the lion and adder, the young lion and dragon;' around, twelve scenes from His life and miracles.
From Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, A.D. 1598-A.D. 1867 With a Preliminary Notice of the earlier Library founded in the Fourteenth Century by William Dunn Macray
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