Толковый словарь английского языка - ligature

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. something that is used to bind, something that unites or connects ; bond, the action of binding or tying, a compound note in mensural notation indicating a group of musical notes to be sung to one syllable, a printed or written character (as æ or {Forte}) consisting of two or more letters or characters joined together