Metonyme: A Figure of Speech

Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe writing is my passion, simply because I was taught so little grammar that many parts are foreign to me. Assuming I am not the only one, my goal is to educate myself and readers on parts of speech we may use in writing without even knowing it. The figure of speech, Metonymy is a case in point.

I had never even heard of metonymy, but once I discovered a definition and examples, I realized I’ve used it many times in my writing. How is metonymy defined? A metonymy is a literary device where one representative term stands for something else. For instance, “the Crown” is a metonymy for monarchy rule. A king or a queen wears the crown – from where this metonymy originated. But the “Crown” doesn’t refer to just the wearer of the crown, but the entire system of government. Closer to home, the “White House” is a metonymy for the Executive Branch of the United States government.

I discovered an excellent source in the K12 Reader that offers reading and writing resources for kids in school. If you’re a grammar whiz, you likely know these rules, and apply them regularly. If you’re lacking in a solid grammar education, this site provides topics on every aspect of reading, spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and composition skills. Getting back to metonymy, the easiest way to understand the term is to consider it as a “logo” that represents an entire system, distilled down to its essence.

Other metonymy examples that are quite familiar:

“Hollywood” is not simply a location in Southern California but a metonymy for the film industry.

The “golden arches” is a metonymy for McDonald’s.

“Silicon Valley” is a metonymy for the technology sector.

This final example, both recognized and slightly more complex, brought the concept of metonymy in clear focus for me:

The pen is mightier than the sword, from Edward Bulwer Lytton’s play, Richelieu, contains two examples of metonymy. “Pen” stands for thought and reason, while “sword” represents physical warfare.

You truly can learn something every day. I’ve heard this phrase numerous times, and for the first time, I understand what it means.