(dactylus), a foot in the Latin and Greek poetry, consisting of a long syllable, followed by two short ones; as cīrmīne. It is derived from στρεπτός, a finger, because, as some say, it is divided into three joints, the first of which is longer than the other two.

The dactyl is said to have been the invention of Dionysius or Bacchus, who delivered oracles in this measure at Delphi, before Apollo. The Greeks called it ἀστράγαλος. The dactyl and spondee are the most considerable of the poetical feet, as being the measures used in heroic verse. These two are of equal time, but not equal motion. The spondee has an even, strong, and steady pace, like a trot; while the dactyl resembles the nimbler strokes of a gallop.