ligature

From Middle English ligature, from Middle French ligature, from Late Latin ligātūra, from ligāre (“to tie, bind”).

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlɪɡət͡ʃɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

ligature (countable and uncountable, plural ligatures)

1. (uncountable) The act of tying or binding something.
2. (countable) A cord or similar thing used to tie something; especially the thread used in surgery to close a vessel or duct.

   anti-ligature clothing

   (in psychiatry) clothing that prevents one from using it to tie knots

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author Gives Some Account of Himself and Family, His First Inducements to Travel. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput), page 7:

     I likewiſe felt ſeveral ſlender Ligatures acroſs my Body, from my Armpits to my Thighs. I could only look upwards, the Sun began to grow hot, and the Light offended mine Eyes.

   • 2018, Eli Rosenberg, “She stalked the Golden State Killer until she died. Some think her work led to the suspect’s arrest”, in The Washington Post:

     He hid shoelaces or rope under cushions to use as ligatures.

3. A thread or wire used to remove tumours, etc.
4. The state of being bound or stiffened; stiffness.

   the ligature of a joint

6. (countable, typography) A character or glyph that visually combines multiple letters, often those of a digraph (such as æ, œ, ß or ij) but sometimes also others (such as fi or fl). (In English and various other languages, such characters and glyphs are not necessary to write or type in the standard orthography, but there are traditions of using them for aesthetic reasons.)

   Synonym: typographic ligature

   Near-synonym: logotype (not always differentiated)

   Meronym: ligand

8. (grammar) A linker word that is classified as a separate part of speech, usually present in Philippine languages.
9. (countable, music) A group of notes played as a phrase, or the curved line that indicates such a phrase.
10. (music) A curve or line connecting notes; a slur.
11. (countable) A piece used to hold a reed to the mouthpiece on woodwind instruments.
12. Any binding, uniting, or restraining principle or agency.
13. A spell or charm that induces sexual impotence.
    • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 90:

      The Roman epic poet Vergil refers to the incapacitating effects of ligatures, while Ovid, the erotic poet, admits the power of such spell-bindings.

• ligature point
• ligatureless

ligature (third-person singular simple present ligatures, present participle ligaturing, simple past and past participle ligatured)

1. (surgery) To ligate; to tie.

• Gualteri, alurgite, Lartigue

Inherited from Middle French ligature, from Late Latin ligātūra, from Latin ligātus, past participle of ligō (“tie, bind”). Compare the popular Old French liüre.

• IPA^(key): /li.ɡa.tyʁ/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

ligature f (plural ligatures)

1. a tie; the action of tying
2. a binding, notably in horticulture
3. ligature; a character that combines multiple letters; logotype

• ligaturer

• lier

• “ligature”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

• lugerait
• régulait

ligātūre

1. vocative masculine singular of ligātūrus

Borrowed from Middle French ligature, itself borrowed from Late Latin ligātūra. Doublet of lyoure.

• IPA^(key): /liˈɡaːtiu̯r(ə)/

ligature (plural ligatures)

1. bandage, dressing
2. (rare) ligament

• English: ligature

• “ligātūre, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.