polysyndeton

/pɒlɪˈsɪndɪtɒn/

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin polysyndeton, itself from Byzantine Greek πολυσύνδετον (polusúndeton, literally “many connected”).

polysyndeton means The use of many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

POLYSYNDETON — [Noun] A rhetorical figure in which coordinating conjunctions are repeatedly used in close succession to create a sense of accumulation, relentless continuity, or overwhelming effect. From Medieval Latin polysyndeton, from Byzantine Greek πολυσύνδετον (polusúndeton), from πολύς (polús, "many") + σύνδετον (súndeton, "bound together, connected"). Unlike asyndeton, which pares language down to a rapid staccato, or parataxis, which juxtaposes without binding, polysyndeton is the art of deliberate, connective weight. It is the breathless inventory of a child’s treasure hoard—"a shell and a penny and a piece of blue glass and a feather"; it is the weary, inescapable litany of daily chores; it is the biblical, ceremonial weight of "the darkness and the void and the spirit moving upon the face of the waters." The device confesses a world not of isolated fragments, but of relentless, weighed connection—a grammatical bulwark against the terrifying silence between things.

noun

The use of many conjunctions to achieve an overwhelming effect in a sentence.“In Polysyndeton conjunctions flow, And every word its copulative will shew.”