ˈdakt ə l noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dactile, from Latin dactylus, from Greek daktylos, literally, finger; from the act that the syllables of the metrical foot are three in number like the joints of the finger
1. : a metrical foot of three syllables, the first being stressed and the last two being unstressed (as in “take her up tenderly”) : a trisyllabic falling cadence — symbol-˘˘ for long, short, short in classical prosody or stressed, unstressed, unstressed in English prosody; also óoo; compare anapest
2.
[New Latin dactylus, from Greek daktylos finger, toe]
a. : a finger or toe
b. : dactylus