It is a figure of speech in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing or the whole thing is used to refer to the part of that thing. This means that the part of something represents the whole or the whole is used to represent the part. Synecdoche may also use smaller groups to stand for larger ones or vice versa.
A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole.
Examples
√ Bread can be used to represent food in general or money.
√ ‘Sails’ is often used to refer to a whole ship.
√ Hired hands can be used to refer to workmen.
√ Wheels refers to a vehicle.
It may use an entire whole thing to represent a part of it.
Examples
√ The “world” is not treating you well-some people.
√ The word “society” is often referred to a specific sector of society.
√ “Police” can be used to represent one or several officers.
√ “Rwanda” attended the UN conference in New York. Rwanda: president
Synecdoche and metonymy resemble one another because they both use a word or phrase to represent something else. They are both considered as forms of metaphor. Either metaphor, or metonymy or synecdoche involves the substitution of one word for another that requires conceptual link. Synecdoche can also be a form of personification when the non-human thing substitutes a human element.
The main difference is that synecdoche uses the part of the thing it represents or the whole thing to mean its part. On the other hand, metonymy doesn’t use the part for the whole or the whole for the part, but rather uses a term that is related to the thing it means.
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