English
ligand
Ligand comes from Latin ligandus ‘tied, bound, united, fastened’, and goes back to ligo ‘bind’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEligo‘bind’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEligandus‘tied, bound, united, fastened’gerundive of ligo
- Englishtodayligand
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEligo‘bind’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEligandus‘tied, bound, united, fastened’gerundive of ligo
- Englishtodayligand
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- ‘to bind’
through Latin ligo ‘bind’
league, religious, religion, ally, liable, alloy, liaison, lien, ligament, religiosity, liaise, ligature, legato, obligate, ligation, 14 more
Today it means
noun A molecule or moiety (ion, functional group, or radical) that binds to another chemical entity to form a larger complex; as, especially: Such an entity that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ligo / ligand