metonymy


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to metonymy: synecdoche

me·ton·y·my

 (mə-tŏn′ə-mē)
n. pl. me·ton·y·mies
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.

[Late Latin metōnymia, from Greek metōnumiā : meta-, meta- + onuma, name; see nō̆-men- in Indo-European roots.]

met′o·nym′ic (mĕt′ə-nĭm′ĭk), met′o·nym′i·cal adj.
met′o·nym′i·cal·ly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

metonymy

(mɪˈtɒnɪmɪ)
n, pl -mies
(Grammar) 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
[C16: from Late Latin from Greek: a changing of name, from meta- (indicating change) + onoma name]
metonymical, ˌmetoˈnymic adj
ˌmetoˈnymically adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

me•ton•y•my

(mɪˈtɒn ə mi)

n.
a figure of speech in which the name of one object or concept is used for that of another to which it is related, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong drink.”
[1540–50; < Late Latin metōnymia < Greek metōnymía change of name; see met-, -onym, -y3]
met•o•nym•ic (ˌmɛt əˈnɪm ɪk) met`o•nym′i•cal, adj.
met`o•nym′i•cal•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

metonymy

a rhetorical or stylistic device in which one thing is named or referred to by the name of another, related thing; for example, the use of White House in referring to the presidential administration. — metonym, n. — metonymous, metonymie, metonymical, adj.
See also: Names
a rhetorical or stylistic device in which one thing is named or referred to by the name of another, related thing; for example, the use of White House for the presidential administration. — metonym, n. — metonymous, metonymic, metonymical, adj.
See also: Rhetoric and Rhetorical Devices
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

metonymy

1. An expression in which the name of something is used to mean something that is related to it, as in “die by the sword” to mean “die by violence.”
2. Use of a suggestive or related word instead of naming the thing meant.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.metonymy - substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in `they counted heads')
figure of speech, trope, image, figure - language used in a figurative or nonliteral sense
metalepsis - substituting metonymy of one figurative sense for another
voice - (metonymy) a singer; "he wanted to hear trained voices sing it"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
metonymie

metonymy

nMetonymie f
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in periodicals archive ?
* All quotations are taken from Denise Green, Metonymy in Contemporary Art: A New Paradigm (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005).
Of course, the metonymy also extends to the lives of and economic realities enmeshing the white-collar workers whose bodies Havel bids us imagine and thence to corporate hierarchies and all that they imply.
On the other hand, cognitive linguists have often focused on the flexibility of categories other than verbs in relation to such issues as metaphor, metonymy and polysemy.
Schmittau (2003) has identified the problem of generative metonymy as an impediment to mathematical understanding.
Metonymy 'proves to be an important trope, perhaps the signal trope, for understanding those aspects of medieval Christianity [ ...
"Word" here is a metonymy, where a part stands for the whole.
Visual Metonymy and Synecdoche: Rhetoric for Stage-setting Images
Coverage includes an overview of science history and how the scientific method appropriated rhetorical invention theory during the rise of science; the role of analogy in the process of interpreting data in a scientific experiment; the nature of some scientific theories as evidenced through analysis of the metaphors on which they are constructed; an examination of the way that the trope of metonymy plays a role in how physicists have perceived the existence of their experimental data; and the implications for research in the rhetoric of science and also the teaching of writing in composition and in technical and scientific writing.
These diverse essays are intended to exemplify an approach to Renaissance scholarship that Bergeron calls 'interrogative metonymy'.