Definition of "diptych" [dip•tych]

• A work consisting of two painted or carved panels that are hinged together. (noun)
• An ancient writing tablet having two leaves hinged together. (noun)
• A list of names, originally contained on such a tablet, of living and dead Christians for whom special prayers are made during the liturgy in many eastern and western churches. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term diptych is often restricted to a highly ornamented type of notebooks."
• "A diptych is a sort of notebook, formed by the union of two tablets, placed one upon the other and united by rings or by a hinge."
• "A codex of two leaves was called a diptych; of three, a triptych, etc."