Brachydactylous

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /bɹækɪˈdæktɪləs/

Definitions

1. Characterized by an abnormal shortening of the fingers or toes that leads to a distinctive anatomical trait
2. Pertaining to a condition wherein the digits are significantly shorter than typical, affecting hands or feet
3. Referring to a medical condition involving the unusually short digits, resulting in a unique skeletal appearance that distinguishes the affected individual

Etymology: Brachydactylous is a medical term built from ancient Greek pieces. Its first element, "brachys", meant "short", and "daktylos" meant "finger" or "toe", so the word literally describes short digits. Greek writers combined these into "brachydaktylos", which passed into Latin as "brachydactylus" before English took it up. The English form is simply that Latin stem with the adjective ending "-ous" added, a suffix that came into English through Old French from Latin "-osus" and was used to turn nouns into descriptive adjectives. So the word is a compound of Greek roots, a Latin form, and a common English suffix, with no folk tale or famous coiner behind it.