"constituting or equivalent to a dactyl; composed of dactyls," 1580s, from Latin dactylicus, from Greek daktylikos "pertaining to a dactyl," from daktylos (see dactyl).

"a fingerprint," 1913, from Latinized form of Greek daktylos "finger" (a word of unknown origin) + -gram.

by 1844 as "the science of study of finger-rings," with -graphy + Latinized form of Greek daktylios "a finger ring," from daktylos "finger," which is of unknown origin. From 1884 as "finger-spelling," which earlier had been dactylology (1650s). Related: Dactylographer; dactylographic.

"a father, papa," recorded from c. 1500, but probably much older, from child's speech, nearly universal and probably prehistoric (compare Welsh tad, Irish daid, Lithuanian tÄ—tÄ—, Sanskrit tatah, Czech tata, Latin tata "father," Greek tata, used by youths to their elders). Compare papa.

1920, from French dada "hobbyhorse," child's nonsense word, selected 1916 by Romanian poet Tristan Tzara (1896-1963), leader of the movement, for its resemblance to meaningless babble.

Freedom: DADA DADA DADA, the howl of clashing colors, the intertwining of all contradictions, grotesqueries, trivialities: LIFE. [T. Tzara, "Dada Manifesto," 1918]

Related: Dadaist; Dadaism.

child's word for "father," 1680s; see dad.

c. 1500, colloquial diminutive of dad, with -y (3). Slang daddy-o is attested by 1949, from bop talk.

Daddy-long-legs is from 1814 in Britain as "crane-fly," a slender, long-legged summer fly. In the U.S., it was used by 1865 as the word for a spider-like arachnid with a small round body and very long, slender legs.

A superstition obtains among our cow-boys that if a cow be lost, its whereabouts may be learned by inquiring of the Daddy-Long-legs (Phalangium), which points out the direction of the lost animal with one of its fore legs. [Frank Cowan, "Curious Facts in the History of Insects, Including Spiders and Scorpions," Philadelphia, 1865]

1660s, "part of a pedestal between the base and the cornice," from Italian dado "die, cube," from Latin datum (see die (n.)). Meaning "wood paneling on the lower part of a wall in a room" is by 1787.

also D.A.E., initialism (acronym) for "A Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles," published in four volumes between 1936 and 1944, edited by Sir William A. Craigie and James R. Hulbert.

also dedal, 1580s, "skillful, cunning," from Latin daedalus, from Greek daidalos "skillful, cunningly wrought." Also (1610s) an Englished form of the name Daedalus from Greek mythology.