To bind or connect together; to unite or join; historically, a mathematical method for solving mixture problems.
From Latin 'alligare' (to bind to), combining 'ad-' (to) + 'ligare' (to bind, tie). The word gave rise to 'allegation,' 'allege,' 'alliance,' and 'alley' through various semantic shifts.
Medieval mathematicians created a technique called 'alligation' for solving mixture problems—it's completely forgotten today, but it was the medieval equivalent of algebra and required students to literally think about binding numbers together.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.