Word

metonymy

Meaning

Metonymy is a figure of speech that uses the name of something closely associated with a person, thing or idea to refer to it.

How “metonymy” is used

Referring to something through the name of a closely associated thing.123

Tone
Specialist language and literary term. Cambridge lists the noun as uncountable.
Where you’ll see it
A rhetorical or linguistic device. For example, a place can stand for the institution based there, or an author's name can stand for that author's works.

Examples

  • Original illustrative example: The White House announced the president's decision.
  • Original illustrative example: The book club is reading Austen this month.

Examples are written for this site to show typical use. They are not quotes.

Usage notes

  • In the first original example, the White House stands for the US president or the president's administration, rather than the building. It should not automatically be read as every branch of the US government. In the second, Austen stands for the author's writing, not the person physically present.
  • Metonymy works through association. A metaphor makes a non-literal comparison between unlike things through a perceived resemblance. Calling a difficult task a mountain is an original illustrative metaphor, not a place or institution standing for an associated person.
  • Synecdoche highlights a part-for-whole or whole-for-part relationship. Scribbr distinguishes that relation from other associations. Radden and Kövecses classify part-for-whole synecdoche as a type of metonymy. The labels are not universally treated as mutually exclusive.
  • Cambridge lists British /metˈɒn.ə.mi/ and American /məˈtɑː.nə.mi/ pronunciations.
  • All examples are original illustrations, not quotations or reports of actual announcements.

Origin

Origin not verified.

Sources

  1. metonymy, Cambridge Dictionary

    dictionary.cambridge.orgAccessed Back to text

    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/metonymy

  2. What Is Metonymy? Definition and Examples, Scribbr

    scribbr.comAccessed Back to text

    https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/metonymy/

  3. Metonymy, Encyclopaedia Britannica

    britannica.comAccessed Back to text

    https://www.britannica.com/art/metonymy

  4. What Is a Metaphor? Definition and Examples, Scribbr

    scribbr.comAccessed

    https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/metaphor/

  5. Towards a Theory of Metonymy, Radden and Kövecses, university-hosted chapter

    slm.uni-hamburg.deAccessed

    https://www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/iaa/personen/ehemalige-emeriti/radden-guenter/downloads/radden-koevecses-2007-metonymy.pdf