triptych

noun

trip·​tych ˈtrip-(ˌ)tik 

1

a

: a picture (such as an altarpiece) or carving in three panels side by side

b

: something composed or presented in three parts or sections

especially : trilogy

2

: an ancient Roman writing tablet with three waxed leaves hinged together

Did you know?

Triptych Has Greek Roots

A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts. Triptych derives from the Greek triptychos ("having three folds"), formed by combining tri- ("three") and ptychē ("fold" or "layer"). Although triptych originally described a specific type of Roman writing tablet that had three hinged sections, it is not surprising that the idea was generalized first to a type of painting, and then to anything composed of three parts.

Examples of triptych in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The show’s centerpiece is a triptych that shifts as usual from red to yellow to blue, but the colors are cascades of drips deepened by blacks and brightened by flashes of white. —Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024

The first in a triptych of new releases that includes a duo with the guitarist Marisa Anderson and the return of Dirty Three after a dozen years, White’s brief, dense record underscores what has forever driven his singular approach: a ceaseless curiosity about what’s left to learn. —Grayson Haver Currin, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024

The impressive work of art is a triptych crafted from wool yarn. —Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024

Our cartoon, seen from a distance, makes a triptych: in the middle, between the training data on one side and the generative outputs on the other, there extends a vast, strange forest. —Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024

Simone Rocha called her show the final part of a triptych of collections, beginning with her Spring-Summer collection shown in September, a guest slot designing for Jean Paul Gaultier couture in Paris last month, and now her latest Fall-Winter 2024 line. —Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN, 21 Feb. 2024

Behind the living room couch hangs a triptych, gilded wood framing scenes that were assembled with vibrant leather from book covers and spines. —Chicago Tribune, Orange County Register, 1 Feb. 2024

Without drawing explicit connections between these women—each is presented on her own, a separate panel in the triptych—Flock is putting them in conversation with one another. —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024

One of the first rooms in the Wing of Manifestly Superior European Art has a Renaissance triptych hanging next to an intentionally grotesque Max Beckmann three-panel work. —James Lileks, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Greek triptychos having three folds, from tri- + ptychē fold

First Known Use

1731, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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