diptych
diptych an ancient writing tablet consisting of two hinged leaves with waxed inner sides for writing on with a stylus; the word is recorded in English in this sense from the early 17th century.
Diptychs in the early Church were tablets recording a list of the living and the dead who were prayed for at the Eucharist; the word also denoted the names themselves, and the intercessions in the course of which they were introduced.
From the early 19th century, diptych has been used for a painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels which may be closed like a book.
The word comes via late Latin from late Greek diptukha ‘pair of writing tablets’, from Greek diphtukhos ‘folded in two’.
Diptychs in the early Church were tablets recording a list of the living and the dead who were prayed for at the Eucharist; the word also denoted the names themselves, and the intercessions in the course of which they were introduced.
From the early 19th century, diptych has been used for a painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels which may be closed like a book.
The word comes via late Latin from late Greek diptukha ‘pair of writing tablets’, from Greek diphtukhos ‘folded in two’.
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diptych