dactylic

[ dak-til-ik ]

adjective

1. of, containing, or characterized by dactyls:

   dactylic hexameter; a dactylic line.

2. of a dactyl.

noun

1. a dactylic verse.

dactylic

/ dækˈtɪlɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or having a dactyl

   dactylic verse

noun

1. a variant of dactyl

Derived Forms

• dacˈtylically, adverb

Other Words From

• dac·tyli·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of dactylic¹

1580–90; < Latin dactylicus < Greek daktylikós. See dactyl, -ic

Example Sentences

That script is three lines of verse, two in dactylic hexameter, the metre of epic verse.

From The Guardian

It is said that Meechan’s fellow satirist, Juvenal, issued a similar warning to ancient Greek critics, infuriated by his cavalier use of the dactylic hexameter, in the second century AD.

From The Guardian

There were monkeypods, “planted as seedlings no taller than chives,” as Mr. Merwin wrote, in impeccable dactylic tetrameter, in an essay in “What Is a Garden?,” which centers on his work in Hawaii.

From New York Times

Written in sprightly dactylic couplets, The Gashlycrumb Tinies was inspired, said Gorey, by “those 19th century cautionary tales, I guess, though my book is punishment without misbehavior.”

From Slate

As such, it’s particularly difficult to adapt to dactylic hexameter, the waltzlike, oom-pah-pah meter of epic poetry, which the Romans inherited from the Greeks.

From The New Yorker