Word of the Day: Synecdoche

Thursday, June 6, 2024

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noun

1. A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa, as in "Cleveland won by six runs" ("Cleveland" meaning "Cleveland's baseball team").

"The team's full name is the Jacksonville Jaguars, but they are often referred to by the synecdoche 'the Jaguars.'"

"The tourism campaign pushed for 'Maple Town' to be the synecdoche for the village best known for its maple syrup festival."

"'I need new wheels to get to work,' Josephine said, using a synecdoche for a car to describe her need for transportation."

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Late Middle English, 1350s

"Synecdoche" appeared in Late Middle English, but it comes to us via Latin from the Greek word "sunekdokhē" — a combination of the words "sun" ("together") and "ekdekhesthai" ("to take up"). It's a figure of speech in which a part (perhaps a nickname) represents a whole (a more formal name), or a whole (referring to a larger body in general) represents a part (an individual). ...