dactylo-
(ˈdæktɪləʊ, dæktɪˈlɒ)
combining form of Gr. δάκτυλος finger, as in ˌdactyloˈdeiktous a. (nonce-wd.) [Gr. δακτυλόδεικτος], pointed at with the finger; ˈdactylogram [Gr. γράµµα letter], a finger-print; dactyˈlographer [graphy + -er1], one who takes or studies finger-prints (in quots. 1926 and 1931 the sense is ‘typist’); dactyˈlography = dactylology; dactyˈlonomy [-nomy], the art of counting on the fingers; dactyˈlopodite (Zool.), [Gr. ποδ- foot], the terminal joint of a limb in Crustacea; ˈdactyloˌpore (see quot.); hence dactyloˈporic a.; dactyˈlopterous a., having the characters of the genus Dactylopterus of fishes, in which the pectoral fins are greatly enlarged and wing-like; so dactyˈlopteroid a.; dactyˈloscopy [Gr. σκοπιά seeing], the examination of finger-prints; hence ˌdactyloˈscopic a.; ˌdactyloˈzooid, -ˈzoid, a mouthless cylindrical zooid in some Hydrozoa.
| 1721 Bailey, Dactylonomy, the Art of Numbering on the Fingers. 1852 Times 27 May 5/6 Oxford must..be represented in politics..by an universally dactylodeiktous personage. 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 92 Appendages which are known as the ‘propodite’ and ‘dactylopodite’. 1880 Huxley Crayfish iv. 219 The dactylopodites of the two posterior thoracic limbs. 1882 Syd. Soc. Lex., Dactylopore, a name given to the pores in the corallum of Hydrocorallinæ, from which the dactylozoids protrude. 1884 J. C. Gordon Deaf Mutes in Amer. Annals Apr. (1885) 128 note, A much simpler system of ‘dactylography’ based upon the Dalgarno alphabet. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 758 The hydranth is sometimes modified for special functions, and the following must be regarded as polymorphic forms of it..The Dactylozooid, a mouthless hydranth, modified for solely defensive and offensive purposes. Such zooids are universal among Hydrocorallina. 1908 Boston Transcript 10 Oct., An interesting illustration of the practical value of the science of dactyloscopy. 1910 Let. to J. A. H. Murray 5 Mar., The dactyloscopic records of the Boston Police Department. 1913 Dorland Med. Dict. (ed. 7), Dactylogram, a finger-print taken for purposes of identification. 1921 Discovery Oct. 259/1 You would not find two dactylograms alike, says Galton,..if you were to examine a series of 64,000,000. Ibid. [Poroscopy] is infinitely more fruitful in results than the one known by the name of dactyloscopy. Ibid. 259/2 In all cases of dactyloscopic analysis. 1926 F. M. Ford A Man could stand Up i. ii. 36 A dactylographer of respectability. 1931 H. G. Wells Work, Wealth & Happiness of Mankind (1932) xii. 567 There would be stenographers and dactylographers swiftly available. 1935 Discovery Sept. 261/1 The print of a finger can be definitely characterised by the dactylographer. 1936 Bentley & Allen Trent's Own Case x. 122 Looking at these well-marked prints of a finger and thumb, he had no more than a vague recollection of the dactyloscopic terms to be used in describing them. 1970 Reader's Digest Dec. 207 In 1910, few policemen believed in dactyloscopy, the examination of fingerprints. |