Poetic Terms Dictionary
Figure of Speech

Synecdoche

From Greek synekdoche: taking up together. A sub-type of metonymy; Roman Jakobson grouped them as the metonymic pole of language. Ubiquitous in epic and political speech.

Definition

A figure in which a part stands for the whole, or the whole stands for a part.

Example

'All hands on deck' (hands for sailors); 'England won the match' (nation for team); 'wheels' for a car.

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