synecdoche
[ si-nek-duh-kee ]
/ sɪˈnɛk də ki /
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noun Rhetoric.
a figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole or the whole for a part, the special for the general or the general for the special, as in ten sail for ten ships or a Croesus for a rich man.
Nearby words
- syndiotactic,
- syndrome,
- syndrome x,
- syndromic,
- syne,
- synechia,
- synechiotomy,
- synechism,
- synecious,
- synecology
Origin of synecdoche
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for synecdochically
The middle Sephiroth are synecdochically used to represent the worlds or triads of which they are the uniting potencies.
synecdoche
/ (sɪnˈɛkdəkɪ) /
noun
a figure of speech in which a part is substituted for a whole or a whole for a part, as in 50 head of cattle for 50 cows, or the army for a soldier
Word Origin for synecdoche
C14: via Latin from Greek sunekdokhē, from syn- + ekdokhē interpretation, from dekhesthai to accept
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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synecdoche
late 14c., "part for whole or vice versa," from Medieval Latin synodoche, from Late Latin synecdoche, from Greek synekdokhe, literally "a receiving together or jointly," from synekdekhesthai "supply a thought or word, take with something else," from syn- "with" (see syn-) + ek "out" (see ex-) + dekhesthai "to receive," related to dokein "seem good" (see decent). Figure in which an attribute or adjunct is substituted for the thing meant ("head" for "cattle," etc.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper