Dactylology
/ˌdæk.tɪˈlɒl.ə.dʒi/noun
The communication of words or concepts by finger gestures, especially in sign systems.
Did you know?Dactylology is built from Greek roots for “finger” and “speech,” and it survives today in the technical language of signing, where the body becomes the alphabet.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
daktylos + -logia
“finger + speech, discourse, study”
Late Greek
Greek
daktylologia
“speech or communication by fingers”
16th Century
New Latin
dactylologia
“a system of finger-language or finger speech”
18th-19th Century
English
dactylology
“the art or practice of communicating by finger gestures”
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