1. (Pros.)
Defn: A poetical foot of three sylables (— ~ ~), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. tëgmînê, E. mer"ciful; — so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger. [Written also dactyle.]
2. (Zoöl.) (a) A finger or toe; a digit. (b) The claw or terminal joint of a leg of an insect or crustacean.
DACTYLAR
Dac"tyl*ar, a.
1. Pertaining to dactyl; dactylic.
2. (Zoöl.)
Defn: Of or pertaining to a finger or toe, or to the claw of an insect crustacean.
DACTYLET
Dac"tyl*et, n. Etym: [Dactyl + .]
Defn: A dactyl. [Obs.]
DACTYLIC
Dac*tyl"ic, a. Etym: [L. dactylicus, Gr. , fr. .]