Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dactyl \Dac"tyl\, n. [L. dactylus, Gr. da`ktylos a finger, a
   dactyl. Cf. {Digit}.]
   1. (Pros.) A poetical foot of three sylables (--- [crescent]
      [crescent]), one long followed by two short, or one
      accented followed by two unaccented; as, L.
      t["e]gm[i^]n[e^], E. mer\b6ciful; -- so called from the
      similarity of its arrangement to that of the joints of a
      finger. [Written also {dactyle}.]

   2. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) A finger or toe; a digit.
      (b) The claw or terminal joint of a leg of an insect or
          crustacean.