and

[ and; unstressed uh nd, uh n, or, esp. after a homorganic consonant, n ]
/ ænd; unstressed ənd, ən, or, esp. after a homorganic consonant, n /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR and ON THESAURUS.COM

conjunction

noun

an added condition, stipulation, detail, or particular: He accepted the job, no ands or buts about it.
conjunction(def 5b).

Idioms for and

    and so forth, and the like; and others; et cetera: We discussed traveling, sightseeing, and so forth.
    and so on, and more things or others of a similar kind; and the like: It was a summer filled with parties, picnics, and so on.

Origin of and

before 900; Middle English; Old English and, ond; cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German ant, Old Frisian, Gothic and, Icelandic and-; akin to German und, Dutch en, Sanskrit anti

usage note for and

Both and and but, and to a lesser extent or and so, are common as transitional words at the beginnings of sentences in all types of speech and writing: General Jackson thought the attack would come after darkness. And he was right. Any objection to this practice probably stems from the overuse of such sentences by inexperienced writers. When one of these words begins a sentence or an independent clause within a sentence, it is not followed by a comma unless the comma is one of a pair setting off a parenthetical element that follows: John is popular, and he seems to be well adjusted. But, appearances to the contrary, he is often depressed. See also and/or, et cetera, try.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH and

and and/or nor or (see usage note at the current entry) (see usage note at and/or)

Words nearby and

ancylostoma caninum, ancylostoma duodenale, ancylostomatic, ancylostomiasis, ancyroid, and, and all, and circuit, and how!, and so forth, and the like

Words related to and so forth

thus

British Dictionary definitions for and so forth (1 of 2)

AND

abbreviation for

Andorra (international car registration)

British Dictionary definitions for and so forth (2 of 2)

and
/ (ænd, unstressed ənd, ən) /

conjunction (coordinating)

noun

(usually plural) an additional matter or problem ifs, ands, or buts

Word Origin for and

Old English and; related to Old Frisian anda, Old Saxon ande, Old High German anti, Sanskrit atha

usage for and

The use of and instead of to after try and wait is typical of spoken language, but should be avoided in any writing which is not informal: We must try to prevent (not try and prevent) this happening

Idioms and Phrases with and so forth

and so forth

Also, and so on. And more of the same, also, and others. For example, At the mall, we shopped, had lunch, shopped some more, and so forth, or She planned to buy an entire outfit in blue—dress, shoes, hat, and so on. The first term dates from the late 1500s, the variant from the early 1700s. Also see and the like.