Where does “triptych” come from?

Triptych comes from Ancient Greek τρίπτυχος, combining τρεῖς meaning three with πτυχή meaning fold, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European tréyes.

triptych (English): A picture or series of pictures painted on three...

Definitions

  1. A picture or series of pictures painted on three...

Ancestry of “triptych”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekτρίπτυχοςconsisting of three layers, threefold
2Ancient Greekτρῐ-three; {{l|en|tri-}}
3Ancient Greekτρεῖςthree
4Proto-Hellenictréyesthree
5Proto-Indo-European*tréyes—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes →Every word from Ancient Greek τρῐ- →Every word from Proto-Hellenic tréyes →