dactyl

1. A poetical foot of three sylables (y e e), one long followed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented; as, L. Tegmine, E. Mer”ciful; so called from the similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a finger.

Alternative forms: dactyle.

2. A finger or toe; a digit. The claw or terminal joint of a leg of an insect or crustacean.