Synecdoche

Synecdoche is a figure of speech.^[1]^[2] It uses a part for the whole thing, or the whole for one of its parts. Examples:

"Boots" meaning soldiers
"America" for the United States
"Number 10" for the Office of the Prime Minister

These three examples, and most other cases, use the part for the whole. But an expression like "The West" might just mean the U.S.A. It depends on context.

"The Government made a statement on the issue yesterday".

The Government did not actually make the statement: a spokesperson did.

Synecdoche is a type of metonymy, because it refers to its target by using a related term. It is similar to metaphor in its use in prose.

Synecdoche Media

An example of a synecdoche: the term boot can be used to mean "soldier".

Related pages

References

↑ "Synecdoche" at Rhetoric.byu.edu; retrieved 2012-1-14.
↑ Welsh, Alfred Hux and James Mickleborough Greenwood. (1893). "Metonymy," Studies in English Grammar: A Comprehensive Course for Grammar Schools, High Schools, and Academies, pp. 222-223.

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[1] "Synecdoche" at Rhetoric.byu.edu; retrieved 2012-1-14.

[2] Welsh, Alfred Hux and James Mickleborough Greenwood. (1893). "Metonymy," Studies in English Grammar: A Comprehensive Course for Grammar Schools, High Schools, and Academies, pp. 222-223.

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