This post first appeared on LinkedIn in 2022 and has been lightly edited for this site.
Figurative language is one of the largest subjects in rhetoric, easily filling several chapters in texts dedicated to rhetoric. Today’s topic covers two types of related figurative devices—metonymy and synecdoche—and by related, I mean that the lineage is often questioned and sometimes argued. Is it a parent-child relationship or a sibling one? Let’s give it a go.
Metonymy
Metonymy comes from the Greek, meaning “change of name.” Essentially, it is the act of using one word instead of an intended word as a way to heighten an intended message. It is a bit like an association game where one takes an idea or a subject and substitutes it with another word to highlight something more significant. Some examples could include using Washington, DC, as a substitute for the US government and 10 Downing Street (or Number 10) for the British government. The following quote is a famous example of metonymy and known by both native and nonnative English speakers.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
Pen replaces the written word or an idea and pits it against the sword, which is a traditional sign of strength and power—ideas are more powerful than brute force. The quote comes from Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and I’m willing to bet that about 99 percent of those who may read this will have absolutely no idea who he was, in much the same way that I did not know his name until I looked up the expression. However, because the quote is still quite famous and memorable after close to two centuries, it demonstrates the power of metonymy. Metonymy can promote a positive or negative connotation about a topic.
No metonymy: After ten years of working on projects for the organization, I have decided to retire.
Positive metonymy: After ten years of putting my heart into projects for the organization, I have decided to retire.
Negative metonymy: After ten years of sweat and tears on projects for the organization, I have decided to retire.
It is important to note that metonymy is a general term that includes refined sub-categorizations for more specific forms. For example, metalepsis is a form of metonymy in which a word or phrase is used to describe another concept. Lead foot is commonly used to illustrate the idea of metalepsis. Lead foot refers to a fast driver, taking the idea of a heavy object, lead, and relating it to a foot pressing on a car accelerator. Closely related to metonymy is polysemy, which relates to a term having multiple meanings. Paper, for example, can mean the material, a newspaper printed on it, or the company behind the newspaper, as in “The paper fired its editor.” Each meaning grows out of the one before it by association.
It is also arguable whether the next topic, synecdoche, is a form of metonymy, so let’s take a closer look, and you can be the judge.
Synecdoche
Synecdoche, like metonymy, can also be traced back to Greek, roughly meaning “receiving together” or “take with something else.” Synecdoche is a close relative of metonymy and sometimes considered a derivative of metonymy. However, synecdoche arguably differs in that instead of word substitution, the writer summarizes an idea with a part of a whole. In use, common examples would be writing threads for clothes, wheels for car, and hands for workers. Many of these should be familiar enough.
Sometimes synecdoche can represent more (or even less) than what the word or phrase literally means. This is commonly, but not always, done by using brand names to represent a class of something rather than a particular item. The following are common examples.
Why don’t you Google that? (Google representing an online search despite there being several other search engines)
He is moving to America. (America in place of the United States even if the Americas are made up of two continents and several countries within)
Do you have a biro? (Biro for ballpoint pens, even if it is just one brand)
He did the hoovering earlier. We may need a new hoover; this one sucks so bad that it doesn’t. (Hoover for the process of vacuuming as well as for vacuum cleaners themselves, based on the original company name)
Here is another odd bit associated with synecdoche. A writer can also reference the material of an object to create a connection, regardless of whether the object is made of that material. For example, while plastic is often used to refer to a credit card, the material it is made of, ivory is used to refer to the white keys of a piano, even if keys are often made of wood with a plastic veneer. Some Americans even use the term silverware to refer to plastic cutlery—cannot really get more synecdochic than “plastic silverware.”
Not Really Easy-Peasy, However
The mentioned example about hoover shows how there is a lot of overlap in transferable categorization from one example to the next. On the one hand, we have hoover as synecdoche when referring to vacuum cleaners in general, but we also have metonymy, and polysemy along with it, when the machine stands in for the job, as in doing the hoovering. So, is it synecdoche or metonymy/polysemy? It is complicated. However, the complications can increase even more so when a single phrase can be parsed into different categories without changing any words or context.
Getting back to one of the first examples presented above, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” a debate can be opened up. Yes, we can look at it as metonymy as explained above with pen representing an idea, and sword, strength. At the same time, however, an argument can be made that pen is part of the writing process, and therefore can be classified as a synecdochic word substitution. A further and similar expansion can also classify sword as an integral part of a warrior, and therefore, part of a whole, and thus also a form of synecdoche.
Conclusion
As is probably clear from this post, terms are terms, and many can arguably represent one thing or another. The terms themselves, however, are not nearly as important as the ideas that they represent. Think of creative ways to make word substitutions in your writing, and maybe, just maybe, you can create a timeless metonymic figure like Bulwer-Lytton did nearly two centuries ago.
For Further Reading
Harris, Robert A. 2018. Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Lanham, Richard A. 1991. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press.