Syndeton

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rhetorical device that involves the use of conjunctions between every item in a series to create a connected and flowing effect in writing or speech; it emphasizes each element equally
2. A stylistic technique in literature and speech where coordinating conjunctions are inserted between all parts of a list or succession of clauses to maintain continuity and rhythm
3. The deliberate insertion of linking words throughout a sequence of phrases or terms in prose or verse to join elements closely and enhance the structure’s cohesion

Etymology: Syndeton is a rhetorical term for a sentence in which conjunctions are used repeatedly, as in "and this, and that, and the other." Its origin lies in Greek: "syndeton" is the neuter form of an adjective meaning "bound together," from "syn" ("together") and "deo" ("to bind"). The same root gives English "bond" and "bind" through other routes, which is why the word feels so tightly knotted in meaning. The term is the opposite of asyndeton, the omission of conjunctions, and the pair was used by ancient Greek and Roman writers on rhetoric to describe deliberate patterns of speech. A writer who strings clauses together with "and... and... and" slows the pace and makes each item feel weighty, while asyndeton does the reverse by piling items up with commas and no linking words. Syndeton entered English as a technical term of classical rhetoric, borrowed directly from Greek in the early modern period when English writers were adopting many such terms from Latin and Greek scholarship. Its exact first recorded date in English is uncertain.