Adjacent Words

Ligature definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIG'ATURE, n. [L. ligatura.]
1. Any thing that binds; a band or bandage.
2. The act of binding; as, by a strict ligature of the parts.
3. Impotence induced by magic.
4. In music, a band or line connecting notes.
5. Among printers, a double character, or a type consisting of two letters or characters united; as fl, fi, in English. The old editions of Greek authors abound with ligatures.
6. The state of being bound.
7. In medicine, stiffness of a joint.
8. In surgery, a cord or string for tying the blood vessels, particularly the arteries, to prevent hemorrhage.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: (music) a group of notes connected by a slur
2: character consisting of two or more letters combined into one
3: a metal band used to attach a reed to the mouthpiece of a clarinet or saxophone
4: thread used by surgeons to bind a vessel (as to constrict the flow of blood)
5: something used to tie or bind [syn: binder, ligature]
6: the act of tying or binding things together [syn: tying, ligature]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Late Latin ligatura, from Latin ligatus, past participle of ligare to bind, tie; akin to Albanian lidh I tie Date: 14th century 1. a. something that is used to bind; specifically a filament (as a thread) used in surgery b. something that unites or connects ; bond 2. the action of binding or tying 3. a compound note in mensural notation indicating a group of musical notes to be sung to one syllable 4. a printed or written character (as æ or Forte) consisting of two or more letters or characters joined together

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a tie or bandage, esp. in surgery for a bleeding artery etc. 2 Mus. a slur; a tie. 3 Printing two or more letters joined, e.g. æ. 4 a bond; a thing that unites. 5 the act of tying or binding. --v.tr. bind or connect with a ligature. Etymology: ME f. LL ligatura f. L ligare ligat- tie, bind

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ligature Lig"a*ture (l[i^]g"[.a]*t[-u]r; 135), n. [L. ligatura, fr. ligare, ligatum, to bind: cf. F. ligature. Cf. Ally, League, Legatura, Liable, Ligament.] 1. The act of binding. 2. Anything that binds; a band or bandage. 3. (Surg.) (a) A thread or string for tying the blood vessels, particularly the arteries, to prevent hemorrhage. (b) A thread or wire used to remove tumors, etc. 4. The state of being bound or stiffened; stiffness; as, the ligature of a joint. 5. Impotence caused by magic or charms. [Obs.] 6. (Mus.) A curve or line connecting notes; a slur. 7. (Print.) A double character, or a type consisting of two or more letters or characters united, as [ae], [filig], [ffllig].

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ligature Lig"a*ture (l[i^]g"[.a]*t[-u]r), v. t. (Surg.) To ligate; to tie.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Logotype Log"o*type, n. [Gr. ? word + -type.] (Print.) A single type, containing two or more letters; as, [ae], [AE], [filig], [fllig], [ffllig], etc.; -- called also ligature.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Band, bandage, ligament, tie. 2. Binding, tying. 3. Cutting tie, compressing or severing wire.

Moby Thesaurus

accent, accent mark, ascender, back, bar, bastard type, beard, belly, bevel, black letter, body, braid, brail, cable, cancel, cap, capital, case, character, cord, counter, custos, descender, direct, dot, em, en, expression mark, face, fat-faced type, feet, fermata, font, groove, hold, italic, key signature, knot, lead, letter, ligament, ligation, line, link, logotype, lower case, majuscule, mark, measure, metronomic mark, minuscule, nexus, nick, notation, pause, pi, pica, point, presa, print, roman, rope, sans serif, script, segno, shank, shoulder, sign, signature, slur, small cap, small capital, spun yarn, stamp, stem, string, swell, symbol, tempo mark, tendon, thong, tie, time signature, twine, twist, type, type body, type class, type lice, typecase, typeface, typefounders, typefoundry, upper case, vinculum, wire, yarn, yoke