Dactylitis
/ˌdæk.tɪˈlaɪ.tɪs/noun
Inflammation of a whole finger or toe, causing it to swell into a sausage-like shape.
Did you know?The same Greek root behind dactylitis also gave English the poetic meter term *dactyl*, because a three-part rhythm was imagined like a finger with one long bone and two short ones.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
GRK
δάκτυλος (dáktylos)
“finger; toe”
Late Greek
GRK
δακτυλίτις (daktylîtis)
“inflammation of a finger or toe”
19th Century
New Latin
dactylitis
“medical term for inflammation of a digit”
Modern English
English
dactylitis
“inflammation of an entire finger or toe”
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