Asyndeton

Asyndeton is a term in grammar for absence or omission of a conjunction between phrases in a sentence. It is a grammatical or literary device used to eliminate the conjunctions typically used between phrases in a sentence. One common example is "Veni, vidi, vici," which is a Latin term meaning, "I came, I saw, I conquered." If asyndeton wasn't utilized in this sentence, it would include conjunctions, and would read, "I came, and I saw, and I conquered." The Gettysburg Address features a similar example, where Lincoln used the phrase, "of the people, by the people, for the people." This device was also used by Winston Churchill in his "We Shall Fight," speech, as well as in many classic Greek and Roman texts.

The use of asyndeton likely originated in ancient Greek, where it was used frequently by Aristotle and other writers. The term can be translated from Greek as "unconnected," as the words are not connected by traditional conjunctions like the words and, or, nor, yet, or but. This type of literary technique in which connecting words are eliminated may also be known as brachylogia or articulus.

The use of asyndeton is often intentional, as it gives text a unique emphasis or emotion. Without conjunctions, phrases maintain a faster, tighter rhythm. It can also be used to draw the reader's attention to a particular idea, or to indicate that a list of items is infinite or incomplete. Writers often use asyndeton to great effect when ending a novel, or to create a dramatic or a poignant moment.

Nearby pages
At, At Best, At sign, At-bat, At-the-Money Option, Atacama, Atacama Desert, Atactic