View synonyms for dactyl

dactyl

[ dak-til ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Prosody. a foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short in quantitative meter, or one stressed followed by two unstressed in accentual meter, as in gently and humanly. : 
a finger or toe.

Dactyl

or Dak·tyl

[ dak-til ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Classical Mythology.

, plural Dac·tyls, Dac·tyl·i [dak, -ti-lahy].

any of a number of beings dwelling on Mount Ida and working as metalworkers and magicians.

-dactyl

variant of -dactylous, especially with nouns:
pterodactyl.

dactyl

/ ˈdæktɪl /

noun

Also calleddactylic prosody a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short ( ) Compare bacchius
zoology any digit of a vertebrate

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dactyl¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dactylus < Greek dáktylos finger, a dactyl, referring to the three joints of the finger

Origin of dactyl²

< Greek Dáktyloi ( Idaîoi ) (Idaean) craftsmen or wizards (plural of dáktylos; dactyl )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of dactyl¹

C14: via Latin from Greek daktulos finger, dactyl, comparing the finger's three joints to the three syllables

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Example Sentences

They aren’t exactly Homeric dactyls, but they seem intended to mirror that ancient literary form, and they give “Everyday Life” an easily digestible if slightly pretentious rhythm.

From Washington Post

She glanced back, saw Two Step on top of another dactyl, screaming for dear life.

From Literature

Without the translation, the vuvv’s ode, its scratchy iambs and dactyls, sound like someone walking forcefully in corduroys.

From Literature

A single stressed syllable, then a trochee, then a dactyl, for prosody nerds.

From Literature

The double dactyl is a form invented by writers Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal on a whim over lunch in Rome in 1951.

From Washington Post

dactinomycin dactylic

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