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Origin and history of metonym

metonym(n.)

"word used in a transferred sense," by 1788; see metonymy.

also from 1788

Entries linking to metonym

metonymy(n.)

in rhetoric, a trope or figure of speech in which the name of one thing is substituted for that of another that is suggested by or closely associated with it (such as the bottle for "alcoholic drink"); 1560s, from French métonymie (16c.) and directly from Late Latin metonymia, from Greek metōnymia, literally "change of name." This is related to metonomazein "to call by a new name; to take a new name," from meta "change" (see meta-) + onyma, dialectal form of onoma "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name").

It often serves to call up associations not suggested by the literal name. Frequently in reference to bureaucracies; Porte for "Ottoman court at Constantinople" (c. 1600, via French) is among the early instances in English. Others, mostly 19c. or after, some now obsolete: Threadneedle Street "Bank of England;" Throgmorton Street "London Stock Exchange;" Scotland Yard "London Metropolitan Police;" Whitehall "British civil service;" Pentagon "U.S. military;" Vatican "the Papacy;" Kremlin "the Russian government;" White House "the United States;" Quai d'Orsay "French Ministry of Foreign Affairs;" Wilhelmstrasse "German foreign policy;" Foggy Bottom "U.S. Department of State."

Related: Metonymic; metonymical; metonymically.

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    spindle
    As with distaff, sometimes formerly used as a metonym for "the female sex," as in Old English spinelhealf "female line of...
    word
    Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, sentence, statement, news, report, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurda- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian word, Dutch woord, Old High German, German wort, Old Norse orð, Gothic waurd), from PIE *were- (3) "speak, say" (see verb). The
    hustle
    1680s (trans.), "to shake to and fro" (especially of money in a cap, as part of a game called hustle-cap), metathesized from Dutch hutselen, husseln "to shake, to toss," frequentative of hutsen, variant of hotsen "to shake." "The stems hot-, hut- appear in a number of formations
    condescend
    mid-14c., of God, a king., etc., "make gracious allowance" for human frailty, etc.; late 14c., "yield deferentially," from Old French condescendere (14c.) "to agree, consent, give in, yield, come down from one's rights or claims," and directly from Late Latin condescendere "to le
    court
    late 12c., "formal assembly held by a sovereign," from Old French cort "king's court; princely residence" (11c., Modern French cour), from Latin cortem, accusative of cors (earlier cohors) "enclosed yard," and by extension (and perhaps by association with curia "sovereign's assem
    orange
    late 14c., in reference to the fruit of the orange tree (late 13c. as a surname), from Old French orange, orenge (12c., Modern French orange), from Medieval Latin pomum de orenge, from Italian arancia, originally narancia (Venetian naranza), an alteration of Arabic naranj, from P
    finance
    c. 1400, "an end, settlement, retribution," from Old French finance "end, ending; pardon, remission; payment, expense; settlement of a debt" (13c.), noun of action from finer "to end, settle a dispute or debt," from fin (see fine (n.)). Compare Medieval Latin finis "a payment in
    coupon
    1822, "certificate of interest due on a bond" (a piece which could be cut from the bond and presented for payment), from French coupon, literally "piece cut off," from couper "to cut," from coup "a blow" (see coup). Meaning widened to "discount ticket" 1860s by British travel age
    graffiti
    1851, "ancient wall inscriptions found in the ruins of Pompeii," from Italian graffiti, plural of graffito "a scribbling," a diminutive formation from graffio "a scratch or scribble," from graffiare "to scribble," ultimately from Greek graphein "to scratch, draw, write" (see -gra
    sonnet
    1557 (in the title of Surrey's poems), from French sonnet (1540s) or directly from Italian sonetto, literally "little song," from Old Provençal sonet "song," diminutive of son "song, sound," from Latin sonus "sound" (from PIE root *swen- "to sound"). Originally in English and int

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