What does ligation mean?
Ligation means the act of binding or joining something together. Its most familiar use is medical: a surgeon may perform a ligation by tying off a blood vessel to stop bleeding or by sealing tissue to limit infection. The term is also used in writing and typography for the joining of letters or characters with a shared stroke, a practice seen in calligraphy and historical manuscripts. Although ligation can describe binding in a general sense, it is more technical than the everyday word “tying” and is especially common in surgical, anatomical, and typographic contexts. Its meaning consistently reflects the idea of securing or connecting separate parts into a firm, continuous whole.
nounThe act of binding or joining something, especially the tying of a blood vessel or tissue to control bleeding or prevent the spread of infection. In writing and typography, it refers to the joining of letters or characters with a shared stroke.
- The binding or joining of two or more things.
- The surgical act of tying off a blood vessel or tissue to control bleeding or prevent the spread of infection.
- The joining of letters or characters in writing or typography by a shared stroke.
"The surgeon performed a ligation of the damaged blood vessel to stop the bleeding."
"Tubal ligation is a permanent method of preventing pregnancy."
"In medieval manuscripts, the scribe used ligation to join two letters with a single continuous stroke."
The plural is used for individual acts of binding or surgical procedures.
"Several ligations were performed during the operation."
From the same root as “ligature” and “ligament,” ligation is the action of tying something securely—especially when medicine needs to stop blood in its tracks.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ligation come from?
Ligation comes through Latin ligātiō, a noun formed from ligāre, “to bind or tie.” The same Latin root produced English words such as ligature, ligament, and ligate. Its development in English reflects both the general sense of binding and the specialized medical sense of tying a vessel or tissue to control bleeding.
Related word forms
How ligation is actually used
The word is formal and technical. In medicine, it usually refers to the tying of a vessel or tissue; in typography and paleography, it describes connected letters.
Easily confused with ligation
Allegiance means loyalty or support, whereas ligation means binding or joining, especially in a medical or technical sense.
A legation is a diplomatic mission or its representative, while a ligation is a binding or joining.