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dactyl

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dactyls

Main Entry:: dac·tyl
Pronunciation:: \ˈdak-t^əl, -ˌtil\
Function:: noun
Etymology:: Middle English dactile, from Latin dactylus, from Greek daktylos, literally, finger; from the fact that the first of three syllables is the longest, like the joints of the finger
Date:: 14th century

: a metrical foot consisting of one long and two short syllables or of one stressed and two unstressed syllables (as in tenderly)

— dac·tyl·ic

Listen to the pronunciation of dactylic

\dak-ˈti-lik\ adjective or noun

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