triptych
noun
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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
Kyle Denis, Billboard, 21 May 2024
The actress appears alongside Willem Dafoe, Joe Alwyn, Jesse Plemons, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schafer and Hong Chau in the triptych fable, which follows a man attempting to control his life, a policeman whose missing wife has returned, and a woman searching for someone with a special ability.
—Escher Walcott, Peoplemag, 18 May 2024
The mordant Greek auteur reunites with his 'Dogtooth' screenwriter, putting Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe through an unpredictable surrealistic triptych.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 17 May 2024
These lintels formed a triptych describing various events in the life of the king and his wife, including an audience with their patron god.
—James L. Fitzsimmons, The Conversation, 1 May 2024
But the only gold medal-winning paintings in the hidden collection are the two colorful pieces of a triptych that earned newspaper illustrator Jean Jacoby, of Luxembourg, first place in 1924.
—John Branch, New York Times, 2 May 2024
Artisans at the Gobelins Manufactory, a French tapestry factory administered by the Mobilier National, wove the triptych.
—Julia Binswanger, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'triptych.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Triptych.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/triptych. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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