Definition of the word coordinating conjunction

The term "coordinating conjunction" was coined by the English grammarian Robert Lowth in his 1762 book, "A Short Introduction to English Grammar." At the time, Lowth was passionate about standardizing English grammar and making it more accessible to young students. One of the key issues he identified was the need to distinguish between different types of conjunctions, which were traditionally classified simply as "joins" or "connectors." Lowth introduced the term "coordinating conjunction" to describe a specific type of conjunction that links words or phrases of equal grammatical importance (such as "and," "but," and "or"). This classification helped students better understand the role of these words in sentence structure and how they differed from subordinating conjunctions, which introduce dependent clauses. Lowth's ideas were widely adopted by other grammarians of the time, and his "Short Introduction to English Grammar" remains one of the foundational works in modern grammar education. Today, the term "coordinating conjunction" is a given in most modern English grammar guides and is taught to students around the world.