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.”
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Origin of metonymy
1Words Nearby metonymy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use metonymy in a sentence
metonymy is the substitution of the name of one thing for that of another to which the former bears a known and close relation.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Webstermetonymy calls one thing by the name of another which is closely related to the first.
English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) WebsterIn both cases the term so approximates to the meaning of Earth, doubtless by metonymy, as to be indistinguishable from it.
Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 1 of 3 | W. E. Gladstonemetonymy consists in naming an object by one of its attributes or accompaniments.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism | F. V. N. PainterThe general effect of metonymy is to bring before the mind a definite image, and thus to impart a graphic quality to the style.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism | F. V. N. Painter
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
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