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Triptych
Definitions
- 1 A picture or series of pictures painted on three tablets connected by hinges.
"I never thought breastfeeding would be hard. When I thought about it at all, my mind conjured beatific scenes suffused with a sort of religious glow. […] These days I envisage more of a triptych: the infant Jesus spluttering at the breast, face purple with hangry fury; the infant Jesus possetting milk down Mary’s front; the infant Jesus and the nappy explosion."
- 2 art consisting of a painting or carving (especially an altarpiece) on three panels (usually hinged together) wordnet
- 3 A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme. broadly
"Thus, with the passing years, Papa Wemba, a hardworking and introverted man, has come to embody “African pop,” forming a triptych with Youssou N’Dour and Salif Keita."
- 4 A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.; A film or video sequence intended to be shown on a triple screen with the use of linked projectors. broadly
"The centerpiece of the show is a poised, luminous, tender, and diabolically clever video installation, “Le Triptyque de Noirmoutier” (The Noirmoutier Triptych), which Varda shot on 35-mm. film[…]. The man gets himself a bottle of beer; the older woman heads with dishes from the sink toward the cupboard—and crosses the dividing line of the triptych exactly like crossing a threshold."
- 5 A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.; A set of three se-tenant postage stamps that form a composite picture. broadly
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- 6 Any set of three closely connected ideas or objects. figuratively
"Witchcraft, heresy, and counterfeiting formed a triptych in popular imagination and in the law."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek τρίπτυχος (tríptukhos, “consisting of three layers, threefold”), from τρι- (tri-) + πτυχή (ptukhḗ, “a fold”).
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Unscramble this word: triptych