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I'm looking for a concise phrase for the sentence construction "a, b, c, and d". That is, a comma-separated list of things, where the last comma is either replaced or accompanied by the word "and".

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What's wrong with list? – TimLymington Jan 24 at 22:29
@TimLymington "list" is too generic. The specific action I'm looking for is a transformation from a simple comma separated list to one with an "and" before the last element. – Josh Jan 24 at 22:35
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Actually, list is precise and specific in describing the thing you say you want described. – Robusto Jan 24 at 22:36
@Robusto I disagree. "a, b, c, d" is a list. So is "a, b, c, and d". I'm looking for a word or phrase that describes the latter construction but NOT the former. – Josh Jan 24 at 22:52
A comma-separated list of things, where the last comma is either replaced or accompanied by the word "and". – Edwin Ashworth Jan 24 at 23:40
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closed as not a real question by Robusto, Cerberus, MετάEd, Kristina Lopez, Carlo_R. Jan 25 at 16:33

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

The specific action I'm looking for is a transformation from a simple comma separated list to one with an "and" before the last element.

Not using and in a list is called asyndeton.

Such a list is styled asyndetic and the action of adding an and might be called syndetication, although I can't find a reference for that.

Using and between every element in a list ("a and b and c and d", in the manner of excited children) is called polysyndeton — that's listed in OED but not ODO.

I suppose a list with just one conjunction might be termed monosyndetic. I can't find a reference for that either.

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Rather than syndetication, you can just say the construction is a syndeton, which is well-attested. Monosyndeton is also found in linguistic works like this. – Jon Hanna Jan 24 at 23:52
good answer. coordination without a conjunction can also be called asyndetic coordination, and coordination with a conjunction is called syndetic coordination. – jlovegren Jan 25 at 3:38
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I would just call that a series. (This is also why the Oxford comma is sometimes called a serial comma.

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