Metonymy
/mɪˈtɑː.nə.mi/noun
A figure of speech in which one thing is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it.
Did you know?The term comes from Greek rhetoric, where naming by association was treated as a precise mental technique—not a poetic accident—and it still powers everything from “the White House” to “the crown.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
μετωνυμία (metōnymía)
“a change of name; naming by a related term”
Late Latin
Latin
metonymia
“metonymy, substitution of one name for another”
Middle French
Old French
métonymie
“metonymy”
16th Century
English
metonymie
“the rhetorical figure of naming by association”
Modern English
English
metonymy
“a figure of speech using a related term to stand for something else”