conj.
- Together with or along with; in addition to; as well as. Used to connect words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction.
- Added to; plus: Two and two makes four.
- Used to indicate result: Give the boy a chance, and he might surprise you.
- Informal. To. Used between finite verbs, such as go, come, try, write, or see: try and find it; come and see. See Usage Note at try.
- Archaic. If: and it pleases you.
and so forth (or on)
- And other unspecified things of the same class: bought groceries, went to the bank, picked up the dry cleaning, and so forth.
- Further in the same manner.
- With considerably more in addition: This project will take all our skill and then some.
[Middle English, from Old English.]
USAGE NOTE It is frequently asserted that sentences beginning with and or but express "incomplete thoughts" and are therefore incorrect. But this rule has been ridiculed by grammarians for decades, and the stricture has been ignored by writers from Shakespeare to Joyce Carol Oates. When asked whether they paid attention to the rule in their own writing, 24 percent of the Usage Panel answered "always or usually," 36 percent answered "sometimes," and 40 percent answered "rarely or never." See Usage Notes at both, but, with.
