metonym

noun
/ˈmɛ.tə.nɪm/

Etymology

Back-formation from metonymy.

Definitions

  1. A word that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related…

    A word that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object; a word used in metonymy.

    • 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."
  2. A concept, idea, or word used to represent, typify, or stand in for a broader set of…

    A concept, idea, or word used to represent, typify, or stand in for a broader set of ideas.

    • 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.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at metonym. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01metonym02concept03impression04indentation05indented06stamped07stamp08imprint09metonymic10metonymy

A definitional loop anchored at metonym. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at metonym

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA