0 used to refer to a rhythm in poetry in which one strong or long syllable is followed by two unstressed (= not strong) or short syllables:
The word "elephant" demonstrates a dactylic stress pattern.
Iambic rhythms are described as "ascending" because they ascend from a low to a high level of stress, while trochaic and dactylic rhythms are "descending."
He argues that English dactylic verse uses dactyls very irregularly.
The pattern here is known as a dactyl (- ..) and these are dactylic feet.
She recognised Shostakovich's incessant dactylic rhythms.
