metonymy

American  

[mi-ton-uh-mee] / mɪˈtɒn ə mi /

noun

Rhetoric.

metonymies plural

1. 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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metonymy British  

/ ˌmɛtəˈnɪmɪkəl, mɪˈtɒnɪmɪ /

noun

1. 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• metonymical
  adjective
• metonymically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• metonymies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of metonymy

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin metōnymia, from Greek metōnymía “change of name”; see origin at met-, -onym, -y ³

Compare meaning

How does metonymy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• metonymy vs. synecdoche

Explanation

Metonymy means referring to something by one of its attributes or by using a related word. If a reporter notes that "the White House released a statement," that's metonymy: "the White House" means the President or the President's administration. Metonymy comes from the Greek word metonymia, meaning “a change of name.” You've probably heard examples of metonymy, even if you didn't know the technical name for this figure of speech. Describing a monarch as "the Crown" or businesspeople as "suits" is metonymy. The expression "the pen is mightier than the sword" uses metonymy twice: "the pen" refers to writing, while "the sword" refers to war. Don't confuse metonymy with synecdoche, a related figure of speech in which a part is used to refer to the whole.

Example Sentences

The closing credits begin unspooling over an image of a little girl’s shoes catching fire and burning up, a grimly poetic metonymy of the Gallardos’ tragic back story.

From New York Times • Apr. 3, 2023

Conversation with him quickly soars into rare air: subjectivity and objectivity, metonymy and metaphor.

From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2022

The catalyzing event becomes a metonymy for other sources of anger with the central government—corruption, police and military brutality, a ravaged job market—and the rallies massively increase in number.

From Slate • Jan. 13, 2022

But there are risks in this kind of metonymy — what writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has called “the danger of a single story.”

From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2018

If you say that the “dollar” is metonymy for “the man possessed of a dollar,” with rights to defend, and reasonable expectations to be realized, you convict yourself of reaction.

From The Unpopular Review, Volume II Number 3 by Various

Related Words

• analogy
• image
• symbol