ligature
Meaning: A thread or wire used in surgery to tie off a blood vessel or other structure. In typography, a ligature is a character combining two or more letters into a single glyph.
Ligature spans three distinct domains. In surgery, it refers to the material used to tie blood vessels during operations — 'the surgeon applied a ligature to the artery.' In typography and calligraphy, it describes combined characters such as æ, œ, or fi. In music, it is the metal or fabric band that holds a reed to the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument. The surgical sense is most common in academic and medical writing, while the typographic sense appears in design and publishing contexts.
Examples
- The surgeon placed a ligature around the severed vessel to achieve haemostasis before closing the wound. 外科医生在断裂的血管周围打了一个结扎,以实现止血后再缝合伤口。El cirujano colocó una ligadura alrededor del vaso seccionado para lograr la hemostasia antes de cerrar la herida.外科医は傷口を閉じる前に止血を達成するため、切断された血管の周囲にリガチャーを施した。외과의사는 상처를 봉합하기 전에 지혈을 위해 절단된 혈관 주위에 결찰사를 걸었다.
- The font designer carefully crafted ligatures for common letter pairs to improve the typeface's readability. 字体设计师精心制作了常见字母组合的连字,以提高字体的可读性。El diseñador de tipografías elaboró cuidadosamente ligaduras para pares de letras frecuentes con el fin de mejorar la legibilidad del tipo.フォントデザイナーは書体の可読性を向上させるため、頻出する文字ペアのリガチャーを丹念に作成した。폰트 디자이너는 서체의 가독성을 향상시키기 위해 빈출 문자 쌍의 합자를 세심하게 제작했다.
- In forensic pathology, the presence of a ligature mark around the neck may indicate the cause of death. 在法医病理学中,颈部出现的勒痕可能表明死因。En patología forense, la presencia de una marca de ligadura alrededor del cuello puede indicar la causa de la muerte.法医病理学において、首の周囲に絞痕が認められる場合、死因を示唆する可能性がある。법의병리학에서 목 주위에 결박 흔적이 있으면 사인을 시사할 수 있다.
Pronunciation
Usage Guide
Context: medical, academic, professional
Tone: neutral
Origin & History
From Latin ligatura (a binding), from ligare (to bind, tie). Entered English in the 14th century; the typographic sense developed in the 16th century with the spread of printing.
Cultural Context
Era: Modern
Generation: All ages
Social background: Universal
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