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metonymy

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me⋅ton⋅y⋅my

[mi-ton-uh-mee]
–noun Rhetoric.
a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related, or of which it is a part, as “scepter” for “sovereignty,” or “the bottle” for “strong drink,” or “count heads (or noses)” for “count people.”

Origin:
1540–50; < LL metōnymia < Gk metōnymía change of name; see met-, -onym, -y 3
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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me·ton·y·my   (mə-tŏn'ə-mē)   
n.   pl. me·ton·y·mies
A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated, as in the use of Washington for the United States government or of the sword for military power.

[Late Latin metōnymia, from Greek metōnumiā : meta-, meta- + onuma, name; see n-men- in Indo-European roots.]
met'o·nym'ic (mět'ə-nĭm'ĭk), met'o·nym'i·cal adj., met'o·nym'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

metonymy 
1562, from Gk. metonymia, lit. "a change of name," from meta- "change" (see meta-) + onyma, dial. of onoma "name" (see name). Figure in which an attribute or adjunct is substituted for the thing meant ("head" for "cattle," etc.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

metonymy me·ton·y·my (mə-tŏn'ə-mē)
n.
In schizophrenia, a language disturbance in which an inappropriate but related word is used in place of the correct one.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

metonymy

(from Greek metonymia, "change of name," or "misnomer"), figure of speech in which the name of an object or concept is replaced with a word closely related to or suggested by the original, as "crown" to mean "king" ("The power of the crown was mortally weakened") or an author for his works ("I'm studying Shakespeare"). A familiar Shakespearean example is Mark Antony's speech in Julius Caesar in which he asks of his audience: "Lend me your ears."

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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