triptych
/ˈtɹɪp.tɪk/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.
noun
A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.
noun
A group of three people or works, especially when considered representative of a particular field or theme.
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "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."
- "Woodson, the recipient of four Newbery Honor awards, has written her first adult novel in 20 years, returning to the Brooklyn setting of “Autobiography of a Family Photo” (1995) and her recent award-winning memoir, “Brown Girl Dreaming.” These works form a triptych of bildungsromans taking place in the author’s hometown and tracking her generation’s coming to adulthood."
- "The show was the first in a triptych of excellent Australian dramas produced by John Edwards that tapped into the sensibility of a generation. It was followed by the thirtysomething drama, Love My Way, and Tangle, which focused on fortysomethings."
- "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."
- "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”).