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Origin and history of metonymy

metonymy(n.)

in rhetoric, a trope or figure of speech in which the name of one thing is substituted for that of another that is suggested by or closely associated with it (such as the bottle for "alcoholic drink"); 1560s, from French métonymie (16c.) and directly from Late Latin metonymia, from Greek metōnymia, literally "change of name." This is related to metonomazein "to call by a new name; to take a new name," from meta "change" (see meta-) + onyma, dialectal form of onoma "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name").

It often serves to call up associations not suggested by the literal name. Frequently in reference to bureaucracies; Porte for "Ottoman court at Constantinople" (c. 1600, via French) is among the early instances in English. Others, mostly 19c. or after, some now obsolete: Threadneedle Street "Bank of England;" Throgmorton Street "London Stock Exchange;" Scotland Yard "London Metropolitan Police;" Whitehall "British civil service;" Pentagon "U.S. military;" Vatican "the Papacy;" Kremlin "the Russian government;" White House "the United States;" Quai d'Orsay "French Ministry of Foreign Affairs;" Wilhelmstrasse "German foreign policy;" Foggy Bottom "U.S. Department of State."

Related: Metonymic; metonymical; metonymically.

also from 1560s

Entries linking to metonymy

Kremlin

1660s, Cremelena, from Old Russian kremlinu, later kremlin (1796), from kreml' "citadel, fortress," a word perhaps of Tartar origin. Originally the citadel of any Russian town or city, now especially the one in Moscow (which enclosed the imperial palace, churches, etc.). Used metonymically for "government of the U.S.S.R." from 1933. The modern form of the word in English might be via French.

pentagon(n.)

1560s, "plane figure with five angles and five sides," from French pentagone (13c.) or directly from Late Latin pentagonum "pentagon," from Greek pentagōnon, a noun use of the neuter of the adjective pentagōnos "five-angled," from pente "five" (from PIE root *penkwe- "five") + gōnia "angle, corner" (from PIE root *genu- (1) "knee; angle"). The U.S. military headquarters known as the Pentagon was completed in 1942, and so called for its shape; used allusively for "U.S. military leadership" from 1945; Pentagonese "U.S. official military jargon" is by 1951. Related: Pentagonal.

In nature, pentagonal symmetry is rare in inanimate forms. Packed soap bubbles seem to strive for it but never quite succeed, and there are no mineral crystals with true pentagonal structures. But pentagonal geometry is basic to many living things, from roses and forget-me-nots to sea urchins and starfish. [Robert Bringhurst, "The Elements of Typographic Style," 1992]