Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Legato
Le·ga′to (lā·gä′tō), a. [It., tied, joined, fr. legare to tie, bind, L. ligare.] (Mus.) Connected; tied; — a term used when successive tones are to be produced in a closely connected, smoothly gliding manner. It is often indicated by a tie, thus ?, ?, or ?, ?, written over or under the notes to be so performed; — opposed to staccato.