what is a dactylic foot?
Definition of Dactyl. A dactyl is a metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. For example, the words âtypicalâ and âelephantâ both demonstrate the dactylic stress pattern. In Greek and Latin verse, which use a different understanding of meter that relies on the length of syllables rather than their stress pattern, a dactyl is a long syllable followed by two short syllables.