polyptych

P3O1L1Y4P3T1Y4C3H4
/ˈpɒlɪptɪk/

noun

A work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together, often with hinges.

OriginAncient Greek πολύπτυχος →
Scrabble 24
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Meanings

nounpolyptych (plural polyptychs)

plural polyptychs

  1. artA work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together, often with hinges.

    [...], a polyptych is a painting with more than one section – a diptych is a painting in two parts or sections, a triptych in three, and so on. Perhaps the most famous polyptych is the Ghent Altarpiece by the early Flemish painters Hubert and Jan van Eyck.

    2021 September 7, Reginald Wiebe, Polyptych: Adaptation, Television, and Comics, Vernon Press, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπολύπτυχος“with many folds”
  2. Englishpolyptych

From Ancient Greek πολύπτυχος (polúptukhos, “with many folds”), from πολύς (polús, “many”) + πτυχή (ptukhḗ, “a fold”).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan políptic
  • políptica work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Esperanto poliptiko
  • poliptikoa work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Finnish polyptyykki
  • polyptyykkia work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
French polyptyque
  • polyptyquea work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
German Polyptychon
  • Polyptychona work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Irish poiliptic
  • poiliptica work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Italian polittico
  • politticoa work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Māori kāhui takitini
  • kāhui takitinia work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Polish poliptyk
  • poliptyka work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Portuguese políptico
  • polípticoa work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Romanian poliptic
  • poliptica work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Russian полиптих
  • полиптих (poliptix)a work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Spanish políptico
  • polípticoa work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Swedish polyptyk
  • polyptyka work consisting of multiple painted or carved panels joined together
Cite this entry
APA

polyptych. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyptych

MLA

“polyptych.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyptych. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polyptych,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyptych.

Source: polyptych on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.