Metonymy

figure of speech where a thing or concept is referred to indirectly by the name of something closely associated with it

Metonymy is a term for a figure of speech.[1] Metonymy a thing or concept is indirectly named. It is not called by its own name, but by the name of something which is closely related or implicit in the context.[2]

One of the most common metonyms is the use of the capital city of a country to mean the government of that country, which is usually in the capital city. For example, mass media uses the word "Washington" to talk about the federal government and national politics of the United States, Other examples of metonyms often use place names to mean major industries which are based there. For example, the stock markets of the US are located on Wall Street in New York City, so "Wall Street" is used as a general word for the US economy. Here is a list of some well-known metonyms:

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References

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English Wiktionary
The English Wiktionary has a dictionary definition (meanings of a word) for: metonymy
  1. "Metonymy" at Rhetoric.byu.edu; retrieved 2012-1-14.
  2. Welsh, Alfred Hux and James Mickleborough Greenwood. (1893). "Metonymy," Studies in English Grammar: A Comprehensive Course for Grammar Schools, High Schools, and Academies, p. 222.