Synecdoche

Synecdoche (pronounced sin-EK-duh-kee, IPA: ) is a figure of speech that presents a kind of metaphor in which:

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• A part of something is used for the whole,
• The whole is used for a part,
• The species is used for the genus,
• The genus is used for the species, or
• The stuff of which something is made is used for the thing.

Synecdoche, as well as forms of metonymy, is one of the most common ways to characterize a fictional character. Frequently, someone will be consistently described by a single body part or feature, such as the eyes, which comes to represent their person.

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Also, sonnets and other forms of love poetry frequently use synecdoches to characterize the beloved in terms of individual body parts rather than a whole, coherent self. This practice is especially common in the Petrarchan sonnet, where the idealised beloved is often described part by part, from head to toe.

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Synecdoche: Examples ►



 

IPA: REDIRECT International Phonetic Alphabet...

Figure of speech: A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetorical figure or device, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use....

Metaphor: In language, a metaphor is a rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects. Typically, a first object is described as being or having the properties of a second object. In this way, the first object can be economically described because implicit and explici...