diptych

noun

dip·​tych ˈdip-(ˌ)tik 

1

: a 2-leaved hinged tablet folding together to protect writing on its waxed surfaces

2

: a picture or series of pictures (such as an altarpiece) painted or carved on two hinged tablets

3

: a work made up of two matching parts

Illustration of diptych

• diptych 2

Examples of diptych in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

One is a diptych of a ship before and after its wreckage. —Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 21 Jan. 2026

Around 2013, Kalu also began creating distinctive circular drawings — whirlpools of overlapping ink, acrylic pen, graphite or oil pastel that are frequently presented as diptychs and triptychs. —Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 10 Dec. 2025

Season one was already a stunner, but season two turned the whole enterprise into a striking diptych, inverting Cassian’s original arc of awakening by reframing him as one small part in a larger collective struggle. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025

Her trademark spectacles and no-nonsense Prince Valiant haircut, along with the electrifying diptych Two Sunflowers (1980), completed the scene. —Simon Chilvers, Vogue, 8 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin diptycha, plural, from Greek, from neuter plural of diptychos folded in two, from di- + ptychē fold

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for diptych

• cryptic
• styptic
• triptych
• tryptic
• apocalyptic
• ecliptic
• elliptic