Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The use of the fingers and hands to communicate and convey ideas, as in the manual alphabet used by hearing-impaired and speech-impaired people.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The art of communicating ideas or conversing by the fingers; the language of the deaf and dumb. See
deafmute .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The art of communicating ideas by certain movements and positions of the fingers; -- a method of conversing practiced by the deaf and dumb.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The
use of thefingers andhands tocommunicate ideas , especially by thedeaf .
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word dactylology.
Examples
-
The most interesting thing I learned from this very exceptional woman (who is deaf since birth and has two hearing children), and spoke like you and I, was a special request she made, that cell phone manufacturers integrate “dactylology” or signwriting, the digital version of sign language which is widely available for computer keyboards.
-
It happened that the doctor, who knew everything, was well acquainted with dactylology and the latest sign language, used in the instruction of deaf mutes, and as it seemed likely that our stay in our present abode might be
Daybreak; a Romance of an Old World James Cowan
-
There are the same obstacles in the use of the written or printed word as have been mentioned in connection with dactylology, namely, lack of rapidity in conveying impressions through the medium of the English sentence.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
What advantage is there, not found in the prevailing methods of communication with the deaf, i.e., by gestures, dactylology, speech and speech-reading, and writing?
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
Signs, dactylology, speech reading, and the written and printed word are all dependent upon the eye for their value as educational instruments.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
To the general public, dactylology or finger spelling is the sign-language, or the basis of that language, but to the profession there is no relation between the two methods of communication.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
It would seem even less practicable than a sole reliance upon dactylology would be, for there can be no doubt as to what
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
So long as this is true, dactylology can hardly claim to be more than one of the _elements_ of a system of instruction for the deaf.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 Various
-
They pressed hands at parting, firmly and briefly, not for the ordinary dactylology of lovers, but in sign of the treaty of amity.
Diana of the Crossways — Complete George Meredith 1868
-
They pressed hands at parting, firmly and briefly, not for the ordinary dactylology of lovers, but in sign of the treaty of amity.
Complete Project Gutenberg Works of George Meredith George Meredith 1868
whichbe commented on the word dactylology
Dactylology is a way to communicate and convey ideas by the use of figures and hands as in manual alphabets which are used by hearing and speech impaired people. There is various type of Dactylology: One hand, two hands, Deaf mute and Figure spelling.
Dactylology is highly useful. It is used to teach deaf and dumb people. There are specific channels to provide information on the basis of Dactylogy. It is an amazing concept to improve the communication of the deaf and dumb at various levels and to teach them. Many institutes have taken up as a concept to provide education to the deaf and dumb. And hence it should be encouraged throughout the world. (from Blurtit.com)
June 5, 2008
reesetee commented on the word dactylology
And you may want to avoid using the term "dumb" to refer to people who don't vocalize (speaking to the writer, not the quoter). :-)
June 5, 2008
bilby commented on the word dactylology
I'm not sure about this, rt. The pure meaning of dumb is okay. Granted, it may have taken on some pejorative connotations. Philosophically I could argue that trying to 'reclaim' dumb for at least its technical definition is no worse than bandying around akwardisms like people who don't vocalise.
June 5, 2008
reesetee commented on the word dactylology
I wasn't suggesting we replace "dumb" with "people who don't vocalize," bilby. I was merely pointing out that many people (particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing) don't necessarily appreciate the attempt to reclaim the word as meaning "nonspeaking." At least in my neck of the woods.
June 5, 2008