polysyndeton
noun/pɒlɪˈsɪndɪtɒn/
Etymology Borrowed from Medieval Latin polysyndeton, itself from Byzantine Greek πολυσύνδετον (polusúndeton, literally “many connected”).
1
Rhetoric The use of many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence.
- In Polysyndeton conjunctions flow, And every word its copulative will shew.1835, L[arret] Langley, “[Rhetorical Figures.] Polysyndeton.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 53:
- [Hemingway] often employs a variety of polysyndeton—a frequent use of conjunctions, most notably “and”—linking elements in a sentence together in a way that implies all parts are of equal importance, while in fact one unit of the series may be much more significant than the others.2002, Robert Baird Shuman, editor, Great American Writers: Twentieth Century, Marshall Cavendish, →ISBN, page 668:
- Antonyms
- asyndeton