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dactylic

[dak-til-ik]
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adjective
  1. of, containing, or characterized by dactyls: dactylic hexameter; a dactylic line.
  2. of a dactyl.
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noun
  1. a dactylic verse.
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Origin of dactylic

1580–90; < Latin dactylicus < Greek daktylikós. See dactyl, -ic
Related formsdac·tyl·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

dramaticelegiacepicidyllicimaginativelyriclyricalmelodiousromantictunefulmetricalrhythmicalanapesticdactylicepicaliambicodic

Examples from the Web for dactylic

Historical Examples

  • In dactylic hexameter how many of these feet are there in a line?

    The Chautauquan, Vol. III, January 1883

    The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle

  • The metre of the song is dactylic; the accents being on the 1st, 4th, 7th, and 10th syllables.

    The Lady of the Lake

    Sir Walter Scott

  • That is, if he ever was an infant, and called for his bottle in dactylic hexameter.

    Winning His "W"

    Everett Titsworth Tomlinson

  • Dactylic lines are not common except in the imitations of the classical hexameter.

  • Young gentlemen, there's a capital start on a fine, sonorous line, dactylic hexameter.

British Dictionary definitions for dactylic

dactylic

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or having a dactyldactylic verse
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noun
  1. a variant of dactyl (def. 1)
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Derived Formsdactylically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dactylic

adj.

1580s, from Latin dactylicus, from Greek daktylikos, from daktylos "pertaining to a dactyl" (see dactyl).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper