DACTYL

digit, dactyl

(noun) a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates

dactyl

(noun) a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

dactyl (plural dactyls)

A poetical foot of three syllables (— ⏑ ⏑), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented.

Source: Wiktionary

Dac"tyl, n. Etym: [L. dactylus, Gr. Digit.]

1. (Pros.)

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition