ligament

Etymology

From Middle English ligament, from Latin ligāmentum, from ligō (“tie, bind”).

noun

1. (anatomy) A band of strong tissue that connects bones to other bones.
   It so chanced that at this juncture the decayed ligaments of the skeleton gave way, and the dry bones fell together in a heap, thus causing the dusty wreath of cypress to drop upon the table. 1846, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Christmas Banquet”, in Mosses from an Old Manse
2. (figurative) That which binds or acts as a ligament.
   1845, Daniel Webster, oration on Justice Joseph Story Justice is the ligament which holds civilized beings and civilized nations together.