Associations to the word «Metonymy»

Wiktionary

METONYMY, noun. The use of a single characteristic or name of an object to identify an entire object or related object.
METONYMY, noun. (countable) A metonym.

Dictionary definition

METONYMY, noun. Substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in `they counted heads').

Wise words

Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
William Butler Yeats