The word "连篇累牍" is formed by combining two parallel two-character phrases: "连篇" and "累牍". "连" means connected or in succession, and "篇" refers to a section of writing, so "连篇" denotes multiple consecutive pages or chapters. "累" means accumulated or piled up, and "牍" refers to ancient wooden writing tablets or documents, so "累牍" denotes stacks of documents. Together, the compound creates a literal imagery of numerous connected pages and accumulated tablets, which figuratively conveys the meaning of excessively long and tedious writing.