synecdoche

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synecdoche

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

synecdoche , figure of speech, a species of metaphor , in which a part of a person or thing is used to designate the whole—thus, "The house was built by 40 hands" for "The house was built by 20 people." See metonymy .

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SYNECDOCHE

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | © Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998, originally published by Oxford University Press 1998. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

SYNECDOCHE [Stress: ‘sin-EK-doh-ky’]. In RHETORIC, a figure of speech concerned with parts and wholes: (1) Where the part represents the whole: ‘All hands on deck’ (the members of a ship's crew represented by their hands alone). (2) Where the whole represents the part: ‘England lost to Australia in the last Test Match’ (the countries standing for the teams representing them and taking a plural verb). See METONYMY.

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TOM McARTHUR. "SYNECDOCHE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "SYNECDOCHE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SYNECDOCHE.html

TOM McARTHUR. "SYNECDOCHE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SYNECDOCHE.html

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synecdoche

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | © The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature 2003, originally published by Oxford University Press 2003. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

synecdoche (pron. ‘sinekdoki’), a figure of speech by which a more comprehensive term is used for a less comprehensive or vice versa, as whole for part or part for whole, e.g. ‘There were six guns out on the moor’ where ‘guns’ stands for shooters; and ‘Oxford won the match’, where ‘Oxford’ stands for ‘the Oxford eleven’.

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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "synecdoche." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 22 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "synecdoche." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (December 22, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-synecdoche.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "synecdoche." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved December 22, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-synecdoche.html

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