a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short (– ◡ ◡)
Compare bacchius
2. zoology
any digit of a vertebrate
Word origin
C14: via Latin from Greek daktulos finger, dactyl, comparing the finger's three joints to the three syllables
dactyl in American English
(ˈdæktəl)
noun
1.
a metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of one long syllable followed by two short ones, or, as in English verse, of oneaccented syllable followed by two unaccented ones (Ex.: “táke hĕr ŭp | téndĕrl”)
2. Zoology
a finger or toe
Word origin
ME dactil < L dactylus < Gr daktylos, a finger or (by analogy with the three joints of a finger) a dactyl
Examples of 'dactyl' in a sentence
dactyl
There was a bull-headed minotaur walking beside an iron-fingered dactyl.