Dactylic
/dækˈtɪlɪk/noun
Relating to or having the metrical pattern of a dactyl, a foot of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
Did you know?Dactylic comes from Greek daktylos, meaning “finger,” because the pattern was imagined as a finger’s long bone followed by two shorter ones—proof that poetry was once measured like a body part.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deǵʰ-
“to point, show, or finger”
Ancient Greek
Greek
δάκτυλος (dáktylos)
“finger; toe”
Classical Greek
Greek
δακτυλικός (daktylikós)
“of a finger; finger-like; metrical, in the shape of a dactyl”
Late Latin
Latin
dactylicus
“pertaining to a dactyl or finger-like rhythm”
Middle French
French
dactylique
“dactylic, relating to poetic meter”
Modern English
English
dactylic
“having the rhythm of a dactyl”