Dactyl Definition

dăktəl
dactyls
noun
dactyls
A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented, as in flattery.
American Heritage
A metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of one long syllable followed by two short ones, or, as in English verse, of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented ones (Ex.: “táke hĕr ŭp | téndĕrl”)
Webster's New World
A finger or toe.
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
suffix
Having digits of a specified number or kind.
Zygodactyl.
American Heritage Medicine
prefix
Alternative form of dactylo-.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Dactyl

Noun

Singular:
dactyl
Plural:
dactyls

Origin of Dactyl

  • Middle English dactil from Latin dactylus from Greek daktulos finger, toe, dactyl (the three syllables of a dactyl being likened to the three phalanges of a finger)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (daktulos, “a finger”), three bones of the finger corresponding to three syllables.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Greek daktulos finger, toe

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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