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

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

From Los Angeles Times

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

From Seattle Times

“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

Tadaaki Kuwayama, a celebrated painter who forged a distinctively minimal path with cool but vividly colored monochromes and diptychs, died on Aug. 18 in Manhattan.

From New York Times

Violette Bule’s “Dream America,” a photographic diptych of a dishwasher carrying a tray of red, white and blue plates and the stars and stripes, evokes August Sander’s famous portrait of a bulging, burdened bricklayer.

From New York Times