What does 'dactylic' mean?

Answer 1

Dactylic is the adjectival form of the noun dactyl. A dactyl is a metrical foot that has a strong syllable followed by two weak ones: strong weak weak.

The word "certainly" has that metrical beat: 'CER-tuhn- ly. Dactylic lines move the reader, speaker, and listener along in a kind of march or trot. Too many dactylic lines in a pattern that is too regular will become a foolish sing-song: 'Dactyls will 'urge you to 'move in a 'march,

'Following 'beats as you 'walk.

'Spondees re'tard you, and 'anapests 'skip,

'Lending a 'lilt to your 'talk.

'Iambs will 'stroll with un'usual 'ease,

'Loping from 'pillar to 'post.

But 'dactyls are 'happy and 'cheerful and 'light,

So 'they are the 'ones I like 'most.