dac·tyl (d?k?t?l)n.1. a. A metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented, as in flattery.b. A metrical foot in quantitative verse consisting of one long syllable followed by two short syllables.2. A finger, toe, or similar part or structure; a digit.[Middle English dactil, from Latin dactylus, from Greek daktulos, finger, toe, dactyl (the three syllables of a dactyl being likened to the three phalanges of a finger ).]dac·tyl?ic (-t?l??k) adj. & n.dac·tyl?i·cal·ly adv.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.dactyl (?dækt?l) n1. (Poetry) prosody Also called: dactylic a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short (¯??). Compare bacchius2. (Anatomy) zoology any digit of a vertebrate[C14: via Latin from Greek daktulos finger, dactyl, comparing the finger’s three joints to the three syllables]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014dac?tyl (?dæk t?l) n. 1. a prosodic foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short in quantitative meter, or one stressed followed by two unstressed in accentual meter, as in humanly. 2. a finger or toe. [1350?1400; Middle English