metonomy

Definition:

A term from the Greek meaning "changed label" or "substitute name," metonomy is a figure of speech which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. A news release that claims "the White House declared" rather than "the President declared" is using metonomy. This term is unlikely to be used in the multiple-choice section, but you might see examples of metonomy in an essay passage.

Examples for you:


 * 1) An example of metonomy can be found in the poem //Out, Out// by Robert Frost when the boy tries to keep his blood from spilling and says "as if to keep the life from spilling," he replaces the word blood with the word life.
 * 2) Another example of would be in the novel //Pride and Prejudice// by Jane Austen when the main character Elizabeth says, "the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House. The word "eye" replaces the word "attention."
 * 3) An example of metonomy can be found in the book Genesis 3:19 when it says "by the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food." The word "sweat" replaces hard work and how if Adam works hard his labor will pay off so he can make and eat food.

Work Cited:
 * "Types-of-Poetry." __Metonomy__. 3 Apr 2007 http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/75-metonymy.htm.
 * "Metonomy." __Wikipedia__. 21 Jan 2007. Wikipedia Encyclopedia. 5 Apr 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy.
 * "Literary Terms." __All American GLossary of Literary Terms__. 5 Apr 2007 http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm.

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