---
title: "Metonymy"
description: "is a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen becaus..."
author: "Assel_91"
published: "2013-02-16T06:27:25+00:00"
modified: "2013-02-16T06:27:25+00:00"
locale: "ru"
canonical_url: "https://yvision.kz/post/metonymy-328250"
markdown_url: "https://yvision.kz/post/metonymy-328250/markdown"
site_name: "Yvision.kz"
---

# Metonymy

> is a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen becaus...

![Metonymy](http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRuYevAmrhCbeHyPR4Zd9Qdt7g4Qr1lkWrArqdFOfZrxkTcxdNg)

is a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen because it is a well-known characteristic of the word.

**Examples:**

- White House ->refers to the President and his staff. The building isn’t part of the President, it’s just closely related/associated.

- Pentagon -> refers to the military and civilian staffers. Again, the building isn’t part of them. The term’s just closely related.

- Hollywood -> We often refer to the film industry as Hollywood. However, not all of the film industry is in Hollywood.

## **Synecdoche **

![Metonymy](http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXiKazcpKQzq2Y7hK7LPqdw2oIQIwbNREC4gYn5omXi-g3_g8hvg)

understanding one thing with another: the use of a part for the whole, or a whole for the part (a form of metonymy)

## ANTONOMASIA

In rhetoric, the use of an epithet to acknowledge a quality in one person or place by using the name of another person or place already known for that quality (a form of metonymy)

Examples:

The Bard of Avon - William Shakespeare

The Little Corporal - Napoleon I

The Iron Lady - Margaret Thatcher

**Purpose of a Metonymy**

As with other literary devices, one of the main purposes of using a metonymy is to add flavor to the writing. Instead of just repeatedly saying, "the staff at the restaurant" or naming all of the elements of a dinner each time you want to refer to the meal, one word breaks up some of that awkwardness.

Using a metonymy serves a double purpose - it breaks up any awkwardness of repeating the same phrase over and over and it changes the wording to make the sentence more interesting.

[http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-metonymy.html](http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-metonymy.html)

[http://fos.iloveindia.com/antonomasia-examples.html](http://fos.iloveindia.com/antonomasia-examples.html)

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Source: [https://yvision.kz/post/metonymy-328250](https://yvision.kz/post/metonymy-328250)