| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| metonymy |
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| SYLLABICATION: | me·ton·y·my |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  m -t n -m |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: 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. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Late Latin met nymia, from Greek metnumi : meta-, meta- + onuma, name; see n -men- in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | met o·nymic (m t-n mk) , meto·nymi·cal —ADJECTIVE
meto·nymi·cal·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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