Metonymy
Definition:
Metonymy in literature refers to the practice of not using the formal word for an object/subject and instead referring to it by using another word that is intricately linked to the formal name/word. It is the practice of substituting the main word with a word that is closely linked to it.
Example:
When we use the name “Washington D.C” we are talking about the U.S’ political hot seat by referring to the political capital of the United States because all the significant political institutions such as the White House, Supreme Court, the U.S. Capitol and many more are located her. The phrase “Washington D.C.” is metonymy for the government of the U.S. in this case.
Comments
9 comments postedwhen we say "the white house is releasing a statement on......" we refer to the US government as the white house
metonomy is when a whole represents a part, and a synecdoche is when a part represents a whole
" I fear these guns will fire".......guns refer to soldiers....
what is it called when you have a series of stories linked to each other by the last line in the previous story? In other words, like the new DISH network ads: "When you get depressed, you go to seminars; when you go to seminars, you feel like a winner; when you feel like a winner,..." (etc).
Syllogism
what is the difference between metonymy and synecdoche?
Metonymy, I believe is used to represent something. Like if we say, "I pledge allegiance to the flag..." we don't really pledge our allegiance to a piece of cloth. The flag is used to represent the country. So really, you're pledging allegiance to your country.
Synecdoche is used to refer a specific part to a whole. Like "a pair of hands" referring to a helper. Notice that the hands that were referenced does relate to the helper, for s/he DOES, in fact have a pair of hands; so it is part of a whole. Whereas, again, metonymy is just used to represent something.
they are relatively the same thing.
"When we use the name 'Washington D.C.' we are talking about the U.S.' political hot seat by referring to the political capital of the United States because all the significant political institutions such as the White House, Supreme Court, and the U.S. Capitol and many more are located *here."
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