a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together vertically and used as an altarpiece 三拼画(由三块用铰链纵向连接的画板拼成的画或浮雕,用作圣坛装饰),三拼浮雕 ■a set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together (艺术、文学或音乐作品的)三件套(指宜完整地欣赏的三件相关作品)
语源
mid 18th cent. (denoting a set of three writing tablets hinged or tied together): from tri- 'three', on the pattern of diptych