ligatura

Forms

ligātūra f (genitive ligātūrae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ligō¹ (“to tie, bind”) + -tūra.^[1][2] The TLL records the spelling ⟨legatura⟩ beside it.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from the Old Latin Bible (the Itala) on,^[2] which Köbler dates after 220 AD; the sense there is a binding or tie.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it named a band or the act of tying: Palladius speaks of the tying of vines.^[4][5] Augustine uses it of an amulet bound on the body^[4][5] and of a medical bandage,^[5] and the Vulgate of bunches of raisins.^[4][5] Ambrose applies it to the holds and twisting of bodies in wrestling.^[4][6]

In Medieval Latin it meant a parcel or bundle, a bunch of herbs laid on a sick person, a mooring due and the binding of a book.^[7] British sources use it for the fastening of objects, for bookbinding and for restraining a person.^[8] In music theory it named a ligature, a sign made of several notes joined together.^[9] It lives on in Italian legatura,^[2][10] and English borrowed it about 1400 as ligature, “something used in tying”.^[11]

Timeline

• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible (Itala) is the first text the TLL names for it.^[2][3]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of the holds of wrestlers.^[4][6][3]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of amulets tied on the body.^[4][5][3]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of bunches of raisins.^[4][3]
• end of 4th/beginning of 5th century AD – Palladius uses it of the tying of vines.^[4][3]
• c. 1400 – English borrows it as ligature.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A band or tie; the act of tying.^[4][6][10]
2. An amulet tied on the body; the magical practice of tying one on.^[4][5][10]
3. A medical bandage.^[5]
4. A bunch or cluster (of raisins).^[4][10]
5. A hold in wrestling, the twining of the wrestlers' bodies.^[4][6]
6. (Medieval Latin) A parcel or bundle; a bunch of herbs applied to a sick person.^[7]
7. (Medieval Latin) A mooring due.^[7]
8. (Medieval Latin) Bookbinding.^[7][8]
9. (Medieval Latin, music) A ligature, a notational sign made of two or more notes joined together.^[9]

Related words

• ligō¹
• English ligature

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
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. ^ a b Lexicon musicum Latinum medii aevi (1992–), Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; online ed. Wörterbuchnetz
10. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com