connective

Connective is an adjective and a noun meaning something that links or binds things. In linguistics, a connective is a word or phrase that ties together clauses or sentences, providing cohesion and signaling relationships such as causality, contrast, or sequence. Common connectives include conjunctions like and, but, or; conjunctive adverbs like therefore, however; and relative connectives like that, which. In logic and computer science, a logical connective is an operator that combines truth-values to form compound statements, including AND, OR, NOT, IMPLIES, and if and only if.

In biology, connective tissue is a major tissue type that supports, binds, or separates other tissues and organs. Its cells reside in an extracellular matrix composed of fibers (notably collagen and elastin) and ground substance. Major subclasses are loose and dense connective tissue, cartilage, bone, and blood, each with distinct cell types and matrix characteristics. Functions include binding and structural support, protection (as in bone and cartilage), energy storage (adipose), and transportation (blood). Connective tissue is derived mainly from mesoderm in embryonic development, and its vascularization varies by subtype.