dactylogram

American  

[dak-til-uh-gram] / dækˈtɪl əˌgræm /

noun

1. a fingerprint.

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dactylogram British  

/ dækˈtɪləˌɡræm /

noun

1. a technical term for fingerprint

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Etymology

Origin of dactylogram

First recorded in 1910–15; dactylo- + -gram ¹

Explanation

Dactylogram is a fancy way of saying "fingerprint." Your dactylograms are unique to you, like a signature you leave behind on everything you touch. Dactyl means "digit," as in a finger or a toe. Cats with extra toes, for example, are called polydactyl. The root gram means "something written or drawn." Put the two together in the word dactylogram, and you have "an image of a digit" — in this case, a printed impression of the lines and ridges of a fingertip: a fingerprint. No two people's dactylograms, not even those of identical twins, are exactly alike, and so they can be used for identification when recorded and stored in a database.