Dictionary

synecdoche en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /sɪˈnɛk.doʊ.ki/
• /sɪˈnɛk.də.ki/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin synecdochē, from Ancient Greek συνεκδοχή (sunekdokhḗ, “receiving together”) from σύν (sún, “with”) + ἐκ (ek, “out of”) + δέχεσθαι (dékhesthai, “to accept”), this last element related to δοκέω (dokéō, “to think, suppose, seem”).

Meanings

1. (countable, rhetoric, uncountable) A figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole, or the whole to represent a part, or a specific kind or instance to represent the general category, or the general category to represent a specific kind or instance, or the constituent material to represent the thing made from it.
   • "Holocaust" can become a tired synecdoche for war crimes in general. 2002 Sep, Christopher Hitchens, “Martin Amis: Lightness at Midnight”, in The Atlantic:
   • Synecdoche the whole for part will take, Or part for whole, just for the metre's sake. 1835, L[arret] Langley, “[The Seven Tropes.] Synecdoche.”, in A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster, South Yorkshire: […] C. White, […], →OCLC, page 9:
   • Perhaps being in a touring band was, to Yorke, a synecdoche for the modern condition: disorientation, alienation, rootlessness, exhaustion, lack of control, occasional derangement, constant motion. 2017 May 17, Dorian Lynskey, “The 20-year-old black mirror that reflects the world today”, in BBC.com Culture:
2. (countable, rhetoric, uncountable) The use of this figure of speech.

Forms

Coordinates

figurativeness · classifier · metonymy · metaphor

Deriveds

synecdochy · synecdochical · synecdochism · synecdochic · synecdochically · synecdochist · synecdochal · synecdochize

Hypernyms

trope · figure of speech

Relateds

metalepsis · docetism · holonymy · meronymy

Synonyms

synecdochy

Translations (50)

sh sinegdoha (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · it sineddoche (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ja 提喩 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · sh синегдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · be сіне́кдаха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ja 提喩法 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · hu szinekdoché (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ko 제유 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · fr synecdoque (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · vi cải dung (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · lt sinekdocha (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ka სინეკდოქე (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · tl halisakop (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · de Synekdoche (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · es sinécdoque (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · pl synekdocha (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · sv synekdoke (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ru сине́кдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · pt sinédoque (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · af sinekdogee (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ca sinècdoque (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · uk сине́кдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · eo sinekdoĥo (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · el συνεκδοχή (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · oc sinecdòca (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · sq sinekdohë (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · cmn 提喻 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · scn sinèdduchi (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ky синекдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · hy համըմբռնում (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · fi synekdokee (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · az sinekdoxa (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · sk synekdocha (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · hy սինեկդոխա (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ta ஆகுபெயர் (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · he סִינֶקְדּוֹכָה (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · th สัมพจนัย (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · hi सिनेकडकी (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · uz sinekdoxa (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ro sinecdocă (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · da synekdoke (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · kk синекдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · mk синегдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · ko 제유법 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · cs synekdocha (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · tr sinekdoş (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · cmn 提喻法 (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · bg сине́кдоха (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · nl synecdoche (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole) · oc sinecdòque (figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole)