ligamentum

Forms

ligāmentum n (genitive ligāmentī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ligō¹ + -mentum, from the verb meaning “to tie, bind”.^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ligō¹ back to Proto-Italic *-lig-ā- and, with a query, Proto-Indo-European *liǵ- (“to tie”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Quintilian and Tacitus on.^[3] Quintilian (c. 35–95/96 AD) speaks of bands tied over the ears (aurium ligamenta).^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant a band or bandage;^[2][5] Tacitus has bandages being prepared for wounds.^[5] Augustine speaks of ligamenta diabolica, devilish bands worn as charms.^[7]

British medieval writers used it in anatomy for a ligament or tendon, and for the root of a tooth.^[8] It survives in Italian legamento,^[9] and English borrowed it in the late 14th century as ligament, the band of tissue binding bones.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of bands round the ears.^[5][6]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of bandages for wounds.^[5][6]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine speaks of devilish bands worn as charms.^[7][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as ligament.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bandage, band, tie.^[2][5]
2. (Late Latin) A band worn as an amulet.^[7]
3. (Medieval Latin, anatomy) A ligament, tendon.^[8]

Related words

• ligāmen
• English ligament

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com