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Thursday 4 April 2013

D is For Dactyl


Welcome to day 4 of the A To Z Challenge.

And today's previously unknown word beginning with the letter D is:

dactyl n prosody a metrical foot of three syllables, one long followed by two short [Greek daktulos finger, comparing the finger's three joints to the three syllables] dactylic adj

And I'll be honest I'm still not sure what it means although I am led to believe it is something to do with poetry - this is the moment when any poets in the audience starting hurling things at me for not knowing what it means... unless of course it has nothing to do with poetry then the poets won't be all that concerned.

I think I'd heard the word before now but after having read the definition I doubt that I've ever known what it meant let alone used the word.

See you tomorrow

10 comments:

Unknown said...

well there is always terradactyl and syndactyl and...I don't know either so I wont be hurling anything today.

Unknown said...

just saw youre reading "Cell" I don't read much King but that was far scarier than any others I've read...creeped me out!

Unknown said...

This looks quite technical!
Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

Donna Smith said...

The word "poetry" is a dactyl...3 syllables, the first one stressed.
And in a dactyle poem...you would stress the first syllable or word, and not stress the next two - and repeat that pattern in the poem....so it goes like duh-di-di duh-di-di duh-di-di duh....etc.
Is that clearer? Or just "duh"?

AtoZ
www.mainelywrite.blogspot.com

Jo said...

I had also heard the word but wasn't sure what it meant, Donna your explanation was much clearer. I think I may have learnt about it in school, but that was a looooooong time ago.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Chippy said...

@ Donna - that made more sense than the dictionary explanation

Unknown said...

kewl

Anonymous said...

LOL @ The Wicked Writer.

I'm learning more every day from your blog.

Unknown said...

Yay! Thanks Donna! I was also left confused and wondering. Thanks for the new word.

Have fun with a-z.

Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...

Donna gave a sound explanation!

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