metonymy means The use of a single characteristic or part of an object, concept or phenomenon to identify the entire object, concept, phenomenon or a related object. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 81 out of 100.
Why this word is great
METONYMY — [Noun] A figure of speech in which a concept or entity is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it, as when 'the crown' signifies royal authority. From Late Latin metonymia, from Ancient Greek μετωνυμία (metōnumía, "change of name"), from μετά (metá, "other, after") + ὄνομα (ónoma, "name"). Unlike synecdoche, which traffics strictly in the logic of part-for-whole ('hired hands'), or metaphor, which implies a leap of likeness ('a lion of a man'), metonymy operates on the quieter machinery of contiguity—the scent of polished oak and old paper that means the law, the clink of fine china from the Palace, the illuminated Oval Office window that signals a solitary decision. It is the subtle recognition that we navigate the world not by its literal components, but through the tangible landmarks that gather around its abstractions.
noun
- The use of a single characteristic or part of an object, concept or phenomenon to identify the entire object, concept, phenomenon or a related object.“Metonymy does new names impose,
And things for things by near relation shews.”
- A metonym.