dactyloid
|dac-ty-loid|
/ˈdæk.tɪ.lɔɪd/
finger-shaped
Etymology
'dactyloid' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'daktylos' (δακτύλος), where 'daktylos' meant 'finger', combined with the suffix '-oid' from Greek 'eidos' meaning 'form' or 'likeness'.
'daktylos' passed into Latin as 'dactylus' and into scientific and descriptive English; the modern English adjective 'dactyloid' was formed by adding the suffix '-oid' to 'dactyl' (via New Latin/modern coinage).
Initially related to the notion of 'finger' or 'a finger-like part'; over time it came to be used descriptively as 'finger-shaped' or 'resembling a dactyl' in specialized contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
shaped like a finger; having finger-like projections or processes (used in biology/anatomy).
The fossil showed dactyloid processes on the limb bones.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
(rare) Resembling a dactyl (a metrical foot in poetry); dactyl-like in rhythm or form.
The passage had a dactyloid cadence that emphasized the long-short-short pattern.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/23 03:34