metonymy
a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong drink,” or “count heads (or noses)” for “count people.”
Origin of metonymy
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use metonymy in a sentence
For a time it seems not so important to classify the metonymies as to make peas or dandelion taste like coffee.
The Story of a Life | J. Breckenridge Ellis
British Dictionary definitions for metonymy
/ (mɪˈtɒnɪmɪ) /
the substitution of a word referring to an attribute for the thing that is meant, as for example the use of the crown to refer to a monarch: Compare synecdoche
Origin of metonymy
1Derived forms of metonymy
- metonymical (ˌmɛtəˈnɪmɪkəl) or metonymic, adjective
- metonymically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse