Meaning of metonym | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A word that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object; a word used in metonymy.
2. A concept, idea, or word used to represent, typify, or stand in for a broader set of ideas.
   broadly

Equivalents

Examples

“Calling a government a "city hall" is using a metonym.”

“...to say⟳ that "New York was thrown into a state of great excitement," when we mean⟳ the inhabitants of New York, is technically to use⟳ the metonym of putting "the container for the thing contained."”

“She not only outlines the devastating effects of seferberlik but also highlights the changing meaning of this term - as it acquired a civilian dimension in its Arabic rendition (safar barlik) - and its potency as a metonym for the war as a whole.”

“As you can tell⟳, most tragedy-associated metonyms take⟳ on the location of the event as opposed to the time, possibly because our minds like⟳ to place⟳ horrific events in the past. We want⟳ to forget⟳ troubling events, so we reserve⟳ date⟳ metonyms for things like⟳ weddings, anniversaries, or celebratory events like⟳ the Fourth of July (celebratory, at least, if you’re on the right side of history). But there is one huge exception: “9/11.” […] Using a metonym like⟳ “New York City” or “Manhattan” rings hollow as to the geography. A date⟳ doesn’t have⟳ to deal⟳ with that issue⟳.”

“See⟳ also: symbol, model⟳, microcosm, archetype, exemplar, proxy”

“Chapter 1, using the railway as a metonym, explored the relationship between past and present⟳, and argued that diachronic, or historical, time was dissolved in the proliferation of present⟳ moments, or synchronic time.”

CEFR level