1. A metrical foot consisting of one long syllable followed by two short syllables, used in classical poetry.
Usage: prosody; classical literature
2. A finger or toe; a digit.
Usage: anatomy; formal or technical

Examples

• The dactylus is the most common metrical foot in dactylic hexameter poetry.
• In classical verse, a dactylus consists of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
• The poet used dactylic meter throughout the epic.
• Each dactylus in the hand contains bones called phalanges.
• The surgeon examined the patient's dactyls for signs of injury.