Dactyl
Pronunciation : Dac"tyl
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [L. dactylus, Gr. Digit.]
Definition : 1. (Pros.)
Defn: A poetical foot of three sylables (-- ~ ~), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. t?gm?n?, E. mer"ciful; -- so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger. [Written also dactyle.]
2. (Zo?l.) (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