synecdoche
/sɪˈnɛk.də.ki/
synecdoche noun: 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.
Noun
synecdoche (countable and uncountable, plural synecdoches)
- 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.
- 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 - "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,
- The use of this figure of speech.
- Synonyms:
- synecdochy
synecdoche meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Tagalog and Thai
synecdoche in Hindi
- figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- सिनेकडकी sinekḍakī
synecdoche in Tamil
- figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- ஆகுபெயர் ākupeyar
synecdoche in Tagalog
- figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- halisakop
synecdoche in Thai
- figure of speech that uses the name of a part of something to represent the whole
- สัมพจนัย sǎm-pót-jà-nai
More languagesFewer languages
- synecdoche in Vietnamese
- cải dung
Synonyms of synecdoche
Forms of synecdoche
| plural | synecdoches |
|---|---|
| alternative form | syndoche |
| alternative form | synechdoche |
Origin of synecdoche
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”).
Words formed from synecdoche
Questions about synecdoche
- What does synecdoche mean?
- Synecdoche means 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.
- What is synecdoche in Hindi?
- Synecdoche in Hindi is सिनेकडकी (sinekḍakī). See Synecdoche meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is synecdoche?
- Synecdoche is a noun.
- How do you pronounce synecdoche?
- Synecdoche is pronounced /sɪˈnɛk.də.ki/.
- What is the plural of synecdoche?
- The plural of synecdoche is synecdoches.
Words near synecdoche in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: synecdoche (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-synecdoche.ogg.
Cite this entry: “synecdoche.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synecdoche. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.