What is "diptych"

Diptych \Dip"tych\, n. [L. diptycha, pl., fr. Gr. ? folded, doubled; di- = di`s- twice + ? to fold, double up.]

1. Anything consisting of two leaves. Especially:

   1. (Roman Antiq.) A writing tablet consisting of two leaves of rigid material connected by hinges and shutting together so as to protect the writing within.

   2. A picture or series of pictures painted on two tablets connected by hinges. See Triptych.

2. A double catalogue, containing in one part the names of living, and in the other of deceased, ecclesiastics and benefactors of the church; a catalogue of saints.

1620s, from Latin diptycha (plural), from late Greek diptykha, neuter plural of diptykhos "double-folded, doubled," from dis- "two" + ptykhe "fold."

n. 1 A writing tablet consisting of two leaves of rigid material connected by hinges and shutting together so as to protect the writing within. 2 (context arts English) A picture or series of pictures painted on two tablets, usually connected by hinges. 3 A double catalogue, containing in one part the names of living, and in the other of deceased, ecclesiastics and benefactors of the church. 4 A catalogue of saints. 5 Artistically-wrought tablets distributed by consul, etc. of the later Roman Empire to commemorate their tenure of office; hence transferred to a list of magistrates 6 '''

1. ''' a literary work consisting of two contrasting parts (as a narrative telling the same story from two opposing points of view) "a ''diptych,'' a pastoral in which the author narrates the birth of Christ ... first as it has impressed the rich countryman Asveer, then as it has been seen by the skeptic Nicodemus" -- François Closset '''

2. ''' any work made up of two matching parts treating complementary or contrasting pictorial phases of one general topic "the first volume of a ''diptych'' Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert" -- F.E. Egler

n. a painting or carving (especially an altarpiece) on two panels (usually hinged like a book)

A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. In particular the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was the diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that were wax tablets, with on their inside faces a recessed space filled with wax. This took writing made with a pointed stylus. When the notes were no longer needed the wax could be slightly heated and then smoothed to allow reuse. Ordinary versions had wooden frames, but luxury ones were made in more expensive materials.