dactyl
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tɪl
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dactylus < Greek dáktylos finger, a dactyl, referring to the three joints of the finger
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
-dactyl
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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dactyl (ˈdæktɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | prosody Compare bacchius Also called: dactylic a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short (⏔) |
| 2. | zoology any digit of a vertebrate |
| [C14: via Latin from Greek daktulos finger, dactyl, comparing the finger's three joints to the three syllables] | |
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dactyl
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dactyl dac·tyl (dāk'təl)
n.
A finger or toe; digit.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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dactyl
metrical foot consisting of one long (classical verse) or stressed (English verse) syllable followed by two short, or unstressed, syllables. Probably the oldest and most common metre in classical verse is the dactylic hexameter, the metre of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and of other ancient epics. Dactylic metres are fairly rare in English verse, one difficulty being that the prolonged use of the dactyl tends to distort normal word accent, giving the lines a jerky movement. They appeared with regularity only after poets like Robert Browning and Algernon Charles Swinburne successfully used the form in the 19th century. Dactylic rhythm produces a lilting movement as in the following example from Byron's Bride of Abydos:
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