dactyl

See also: dactyl-

English

Alternative forms

• dactyle, dactile

Etymology

A dactyl is like a finger, having one long part followed by two short stretches.

From Latin dactylus, from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “a finger”), three bones of the finger corresponding to three syllables.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdæktɪɫ/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

dactyl (plural dactyls)

1. A metrical foot of three syllables (— ⏑ ⏑), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented.
   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 4:

     —My name is absurd too: Malachi Mulligan, two dactyls. But it has a Hellenic ring, hasn't it?

Derived terms

• double dactyl

Related terms

• dactylic
• polydactyl

Translations

poetical foot of three syllables

• Armenian: ստեղն (hy) (steġn)
• Catalan: dàctil (ca) m
• Danish: daktyl c
• Dutch: dactylus (nl) m
• Esperanto: daktilo
• Faroese: rættur tríliður m
• Finnish: daktyyli (fi)
• French: dactyle (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Daktylus (de) m
• Greek: δάκτυλος (el) m (dáktylos)

  Ancient: δάκτυλος m (dáktulos)

• Irish: dachtal m
• Italian: dattilo (it) m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: dactylus m
• Occitan: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: daktyl (pl) m
• Portuguese: dátilo (pt) m
• Russian: да́ктиль (ru) m (dáktilʹ)
• Spanish: dáctilo m
• Swahili: please add this translation if you can
• Swedish: daktyl (sv) c
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

See also

• anapest
• spondee
• finger