dactyl

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dac·tyl

(dăk′təl)

a. A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented, as in flattery.

b. A metrical foot in quantitative verse consisting of one long syllable followed by two short syllables.

2. A finger, toe, or similar part or structure; a digit.

[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 ).]

dac·tyl′ic (-tĭl′ĭk) adj. & n.

dac·tyl′i·cal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dactyl

(ˈdæktɪl)

1. (Poetry) prosody Also called: dactylic a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short (¯˘˘). Compare bacchius

2. (Anatomy) zoology any digit of a vertebrate

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dac•tyl

(ˈdæk tɪl)

n.

1. a prosodic 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 humanly.

2. a finger or toe.

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dactylus < Greek dáktylos finger]

dac•tyl′ic, adj.

-dactyl

var. of -dactylous, esp. with nouns: pterodactyl.

dactyl

- Your dactyls are your toes.

dactyl

a digit; a finger or toe. See also measurement.

dactyl

A metrical foot of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	dactyl - a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables metrical foot, metrical unit, foot - (prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm
	2.	dactyl - a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates digit craniate, vertebrate - animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium phalanx - any of the bones of the fingers or toes appendage, extremity, member - an external body part that projects from the body; "it is important to keep the extremities warm" minimus - the fifth digit; the little finger or little toe finger - any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb); "her fingers were long and thin" toe - one of the digits of the foot nail - horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits

Translations

dactyle

дактиль

dactyl

[ˈdæktɪl] N → dáctilo m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dactyl

n (Zool) → Zehe f, → Finger m; (Liter) → Daktylus m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dac·tyl

n. dáctilo, dedo de la mano o del pie.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

References in classic literature ?

Pain is always by the side of joy, the spondee by the dactyl.--Master, I must relate to you the history of the Barbeau mansion.

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The abbe, who was quite innocent of Latin, nodded his head, in cadence, at every roll which La Fontaine impressed upon his body, according to the undulations of the dactyls and spondees.

View in context

It is therefore possible that another lost poem, the "Idaean Dactyls", which dealt with the discovery of metals and their working, was appended to, or even was a part of the "Great Works", just as the "Divination by Birds" was appended to the "Works and Days".

View in context

Ferulic acid (FA) has recently been shown to scavenge oxygen free radicals and increase the intracellular cAMP and cGMP and hence improve sperm motility in a study done by Zheng et al.5 Since FA is an active ingredient of Ajwa dates (Phoenix dactyl L), we recommend its use in the treatment of male infertility.

Role of Ajwa date (Phoenix Dactyl L) derived polyphenols in male infertility

One such project is Dactyl, a robot that taught itself to flip a toy building block in its fingers.

Robot dexterity: Robots are teaching themselves to handle the physical world

"Dactyl learns to solve the object reorientation task entirely in simulation without any human input.

After Not-A-Flamethrower, Elon Musk says it's time to make mecha or giant robot

Whoops uses her surprising superhero powers to stop her evil neighbour, Doctor Dactyl, from pulling off the crime of the century.

Glynn's tribute to old pal Whoops, a dog full of beans... and curry powder

He loosened his iambic pentameter by allowing himself an anapest or two, sometimes even three, in each line, but rarely a trochee (one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed) or dactyl (one stressed, two unstressed) except for the occasional traditional trochaic substitution at the start of a line.

POWER AND RHYTHM

Ida and Dactyl were discovered to be the first known binary asteroid.

Fifteen Steps to Forever: Use these well-know observing targets as incremental stepping stones into the cosmic past

a) Habitus, ventral view, b) trunk, dorsal view, c) trunk, dorsal view, d) trunk, ventral view, e, f) propodus and dactyl of leg 3; leg 3, entire.

First record of a sea spider (Pycnogonida) from an anchialine habitat

The portrait of the filmmaker's friend Nakou that began the third night's order seemed to me to assign a different poetic meter to each shot: At first the image was syncopated in a bold dactyl of white light; then each new image flashed as the short syllable in various cinematic anapests, choriambuses, trochees, and bacchii.