dac·tyl (d ăk t əl)
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n.1. 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·tylic (-tĭlĭk) adj. & n. dac·tyli·cal·ly adv. |