ligature

American  

[lig-uh-cher, -choor] / ˈlɪg ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər /

noun

1. the act of binding or tying up.

   The ligature of the artery was done with skill.

2. anything that serves for binding or tying up, as a band, bandage, or cord.

3. a tie or bond.

   the ligature of mutual need that bound them together.

4. Printing, Orthography. a stroke or bar connecting two letters.

5. Printing. a character or type combining two or more letters, as fl and æ.

6. Music.

   1. a slur.

   2. a group of notes connected by a slur.

   3. a metal band for securing the reed of a clarinet or saxophone to the mouthpiece.

7. Surgery. a thread or wire for constriction of blood vessels or for removing tumors by strangulation.

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verb (used with object)

ligatured, ligaturing

1. to bind with a ligature; tie up; ligate.

ligature British  

/ -ˌtʃʊə, ˈlɪɡətʃə /

noun

1. the act of binding or tying up

2. something used to bind

3. a link, bond, or tie

4. surgery a thread or wire for tying around a vessel, duct, etc, as for constricting the flow of blood to a part

5. printing a character of two or more joined letters, such as, fl, ffi, ffl

6. music

   1. a slur or the group of notes connected by it

   2. (in plainsong notation) a symbol indicating two or more notes grouped together

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verb

1. (tr) to bind with a ligature; ligate

Other Word Forms

• unligatured adjective

Etymology

Origin of ligature

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word ligātūra. See ligate, -ure

Explanation

Ligature is when two things are tied or stitched together, and it's also the thread or cord that's used to do the binding. If you hit your head and need stitches, you'll go to the emergency room for ligature. Doctors and nurses are all well-trained in ligature (since they are always stiching people up), but they are not the only people familiar with ligature. When a robber ties up victims before robbing a store, the rope used to tie their hands is also a ligature, and when a musician connects two notes with a slur — singing or playing them as one syllable — that's a ligature too. The word comes from the Latin root ligatura, "a band," from ligare, "to bind."

Example Sentences

Instead of the classic single ligature, they used a triple ligature approach on the upper left molar of male mice.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

Investigators suspected the Turners from the beginning, based not only on the ligature, but the couple’s behavior.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2024

Another challenge in collecting data: Many of these deaths are misclassified as suicide because the subjects are found with a ligature, Rogg said.

From Fox News • Sep. 2, 2021

“Pants, shirts, blankets, sheets, are far more a ligature risk.”

From Washington Times • Sep. 11, 2020

Every time he grouped notes together with a ligature, he meant that those notes should be shorter than the others.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall