noun
dactyl
A finger or toe in biological terminology.
The biologist measures each dactyl on the frog's hind foot.
Etymology
The Greek word names a finger or toe. Biological terminology retains that literal anatomical meaning rather than the poetic metrical sense derived from it.
More examples
- The specimen has a damaged dactyl on its left forelimb.
- Each dactyl contains small bones called phalanges.
- The diagram labels the five dactyls of the human hand.
Forms
dactyl · dactyls