noun
ligature
LIH-guhch
noun
1
A cord, thread, or wire used to tie something tightly, especially to close off a blood vessel in surgery.
"The surgeon applied a ligature to stop the bleeding."
2
A character formed by joining two or more letters into a single glyph, such as æ.
"The typeface includes a stylish "fi" ligature."
How to Use Ligature
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomething used to tie or bind, or (in typography) two letters merged into one symbol.
Common pairings
surgical ligature
typographic ligature
Word Forms
ligatured past tense, ligatures plural, ligatures singular
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The surgeon applied a _____ to stop the bleeding.
Etymology
From Late Latin ligatura, from ligare, "to tie or bind" — the same root as ligament and lien.