‖ asyndeton
(əˈsɪndɪtən)
[L., a. Gr. τὸ ἀσύνδετον, subst. use of ἀσύνδετος unconnected, f. ἀ priv. + σύνδετος, vbl. adj. f. συν-δέ-ειν to bind together.]
A rhetorical figure which omits the conjunction. asyndetic (æsɪnˈdɛtɪk), a., characterized by asyndeton, not connected by conjunctions; hence asynˈdetically adv.
| 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie (1869) 185 Asyndeton, or the Loose language..as thus: I savv it, I said it, I vvill svveare it. 1740 B. Martin Bibl. Techn. 145 Asyndeton the Cop'latives denies. Faith, Justice, Truth, Religion, Mercy dies. 1879 tr. Meyer on 1 Cor. xiv. 1 Διώκετε τὴν ἀγάπην..asyndetic, but following with all the greater emphasis upon the praise of love. 1928 in Funk's Standard Dict. 1959 M. Schlauch Eng. Lang. in Mod. Times ii. 57 The possibility..of attaching adjectival relative clauses asyndetically to the main one. |