Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

asyndeton

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅syn⋅de⋅ton

[uh-sin-di-ton, -tuhn]
–noun
1. Rhetoric. the omission of conjunctions, as in “He has provided the poor with jobs, with opportunity, with self-respect.”
2. Library Science. the omission of cross references, esp. from a catalog.

Origin:
1580–90; < L < Gk, n. use of neut. of asýndetos not linked (a- a- 6 + syndé(ein) to link + -tos verbid suffix)


as⋅yn⋅det⋅ic [as-in-det-ik] , adjective
as⋅yn⋅det⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To asyndeton
a·syn·de·ton   (ə-sĭn'dĭ-tŏn')   
n.  The omission of conjunctions from constructions in which they would normally be used, as in "Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils,/Shrunk to this little measure?" (Shakespeare).

[Late Latin, from Greek asundeton, from neuter of asundetos, without conjunctions : a-, not; see a-1 + sundetos, bound together (from sundein, to bind together : sun-, syn- + dein, to bind).]
as'yn·det'ic (ās'ĭn-dět'ĭk) adj., as'yn·det'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Encyclopedia

asyndeton

the omission of the conjunctions that ordinarily join coordinate words or clauses, as in the phrase "I came, I saw, I conquered" or in Matthew Arnold's poem The Scholar Gipsy:Thou hast not lived, why should'st thou perish, so?Thou hadst one aim, one business, one desire; Else wert thou long since numbered with the dead

Learn more about asyndeton with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see asyndeton on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: