ligature

C2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃɚ/ UK /ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃə/ See IPA manual

Freq #23744

Meanings

1

noun
a cord, band, or other fastening used to bind things together

An elastic ligature held the bundle of notebooks closed.
2

noun
thread or wire tied around a blood vessel or other body structure, especially during surgery

The surgeon placed a ligature around the bleeding artery.
3

noun
a printed or written character formed by joining two or more letters

The typeface includes the ligature ae as a single glyph.
4

noun
a band that secures a reed to the mouthpiece of a clarinet or saxophone

The clarinetist tightened the ligature before tuning the instrument.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a cord, band, or other... binding tie fastening

2 noun · thread or wire tied around... surgical tie

3 noun · a printed or written... joined glyph

4 noun · a band that secures a reed... reed clamp

Word family

Forms ligatures

Derived forms ligatureless

Related forms ligateligationglyph

Simplified etymology

Ligature entered Middle English from a formation based on Latin ligare, “to bind.” It originally referred generally to something used for tying or binding.

Etymology

From Middle English and Middle French ligature, from Late Latin ligatura ("a binding"), based on Latin ligare ("to bind, tie"). Its technical senses all preserve the central idea of joining or fastening.

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# ligature

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈlɪɡ.ə.tʃə/
**Frequency rank:** 23744

## Meanings
1. a cord, band, or other fastening used to bind things together
2. thread or wire tied around a blood vessel or other body structure, especially during surgery
3. a printed or written character formed by joining two or more letters
4. a band that secures a reed to the mouthpiece of a clarinet or saxophone

## Examples
- An elastic ligature held the bundle of notebooks closed.
- The surgeon placed a ligature around the bleeding artery.
- The typeface includes the ligature ae as a single glyph.
- The clarinetist tightened the ligature before tuning the instrument.

## Synonyms
- binding
- tie
- fastening

## Derived Forms
- ligatureless

## Related Forms
- ligate
- ligation
- glyph

## Etymology
From Middle English and Middle French ligature, from Late Latin ligatura ("a binding"), based on Latin ligare ("to bind, tie"). Its technical senses all preserve the central idea of joining or fastening.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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