Real Dictionary

-dactyl in American English
combining form

dactyl in American English
a metrical foot consisting, in Greek and Latin verse, of one long syllable followed by two short ones, or, as in English verse, of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented ones (Ex.: “táke hĕ r ŭ p | téndĕrl”)
noun: a foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short in quantitative meter, or one stressed followed by two unstressed in accentual meter, as in humanly
noun: any of a number of beings dwelling on Mount Ida and working as metalworkers and magicians

dactyl in British English
noun: a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short (– ◡ ◡)