Definition of DACTYL

dactyl

Plural: dactyls

Noun

  • A metrical foot consisting of one stressed followed by two unstressed syllables.
  • a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables
  • a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
  • A metrical foot of three syllables (— ⏑ ⏑), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented.

Examples

  • He carefully arranged his tiles to spell DACTYL, a poetic play.

Origin / Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin dactylus, from Ancient Greek δάκτυλος (dáktulos, “finger”), three bones of the finger corresponding to three syllables. Doublet of dactylus and date.

Synonyms

digit

Scrabble Score: 12

dactyl: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
dactyl: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
dactyl: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

dactyl: valid Words With Friends Word