polysyndeton

American

[pol-ee-sin-di-ton, -tuhn] / ˌpɒl iˈsɪn dɪˌtɒn, -tən /

noun

Rhetoric.

the use of a number of conjunctions in close succession.

polysyndeton British

/ ˌpɒlɪˈsɪndɪtən /

noun

rhetoric the use of several conjunctions in close succession, esp where some might be omitted, as in he ran and jumped and laughed for joy
Also called: syndesis. grammar a sentence containing more than two coordinate clauses

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of polysyndeton

From New Latin, dating back to 1580–90; poly-, asyndeton

Vocabulary lists containing polysyndeton

Reading: Literature - Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - High School

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Rhetoric

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023