English Dictionary |
DACTYL
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
Dictionary entry overview: What does dactyl mean?
• DACTYL (noun)
The noun DACTYL has 2 senses:
1. a metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables
2. a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
Familiarity information: DACTYL used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
A metrical unit with stressed-unstressed-unstressed syllables
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("dactyl" is a kind of...):
foot; metrical foot; metrical unit ((prosody) a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm)
Derivation:
dactylic (of or consisting of dactyls)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Synonyms:
dactyl; digit
Hypernyms ("dactyl" is a kind of...):
appendage; extremity; member (an external body part that projects from the body)
Meronyms (parts of "dactyl"):
phalanx (any of the bones of the fingers or toes)
nail (horny plate covering and protecting part of the dorsal surface of the digits)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "dactyl"):
minimus (the fifth digit; the little finger or little toe)
finger (any of the terminal members of the hand (sometimes excepting the thumb))
toe (one of the digits of the foot)
Holonyms ("dactyl" is a part of...):
craniate; vertebrate (animals having a bony or cartilaginous skeleton with a segmented spinal column and a large brain enclosed in a skull or cranium)
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