Metonymy

Metonymy  is a term for a figure of speech."Metonymy" at Rhetoric.byu.edu; retrieved 2012-1-14.   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.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. 

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:

 Brussels as a metonym for the European Union 
 Casa Rosada ("Pink House") as a metonym for the President of Argentina
 Élysée Palace as a metonym for the President of France 
 Hollywood as a metonym for US cinema
 Westminster as a metonym for the Parliament of the United Kingdom
 White House used as a metonym for the President of the United States

Related pages
 Antonomasia
 Eponym
 Euphemism 
 Newspeak
 Pun
 Synecdoche
 Trope

References

Category:Rhetoric
Category:Figures of speech