Legato
Etymology
Italian "legato," past participle of "legare" (to bind, tie), from Latin "ligare" (to bind) — the same root that gives English "ligature" and "ligament." Adopted as a standard musical direction in the Italian-dominated notation of the eighteenth century.
noun · /leh-GAH-toh/
A manner of playing music in which notes are connected smoothly, with no perceptible gap between them.
What it names
It gives musicians a precise instruction for the seam between notes — bind them — that ordinary words like “smooth” leave vague.
Example
The cellist drew the phrase out in one long legato line, the bow never seeming to change direction.
Related idea
Its opposite is staccato, where each note is clipped short and detached; legato binds, staccato separates, and most expressive playing lives on the spectrum between them.