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ligature Definition

liga·ture (lig′ə c̸hər)

noun

  1. a tying or binding together
  2. a thing used in tying or binding together; tie, bond, etc.
    1. a written or printed character containing two or more letters united, as æ,fl,t̸h
    2. a curved line connecting such letters in writing
  4. Music
    1. in medieval mensural notation, a symbol representing two or more notes
    2. a curved line joining two or more notes in a tie or slur
    3. the notes so connected
  5. Surgery a thread or wire used to tie up an artery, etc.

Etymology: ME < MFr < LL ligatura < pp. of L ligare, to bind < IE base *leiĝ-, to bind > MLowG līk, a tie, MHG geleich, joint, Alb lidhe, a bond

transitive verb -·tured, -·tur·ing

to tie or bind together with a ligature; ligate

ligature Synonyms

ligature

n.

link, bond, connection; see band 2, rope.

ligature Usage Examples

Preposition: of

artery: He described the ligature of arteries long before Ambrose Pare.

Converse of object

  • use: He also found that bleeding could be stopped by using a ligature.
  • tie: Even tho they knew they were being watched the women still tried to tie ligatures around their necks.
  • remove: The officer removed the ligature and provided first aid which saved the mans life.
  • call: Also, in some scripts, certain character sequences can be represented by a single shape, called a ligature.
  • make: Do you know if it's all possible to make a ligature from the letters g and s?
  • have: She had sustained multiple scalp wounds and had a ligature around her neck, although the ligature had not caused her death.

Adjective modifier

proximal: The distal ligature is knotted and the ends of the proximal ligature are held without knotting.

Modifies a noun

point: Even where a fixed track provides no ligature points, heavy weights can be suspended from the curtains.

Noun used with modifier

fi: DOn't worry what that actually means, the end result is all of the fl and fi ligatures became big dots!