THE metonymy is figure of speech which consists in using a word in place of another with which there is a relation of meaning. See some examples:
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- I read Machado de Assis years ago. - Let's eat one McDonalds. - He ate three plates of feijoada. - There wasn't one roof to house it. |
Observing the examples above, we notice that the words in bold are used to represent others that have a similar meaning:
Machado de Assis: the person was not read, but the works written by that author, that is, we take the author for the work;
McDonalds: the brand was not consumed, but the sandwich produced by it, that is, we take the brand for the product;
plates: the container was not consumed, but the content that was in them, that is, we took the continent (container) for the content;
Roof: there was not only this part of the house, but the whole house was absent, that is, we took the part for the whole.
So, this word picture it can be expressed in different ways. It occurs when we take:
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
a) the effect for the cause or vice versa:
Example:
Got approval with sweat and tears. (with study) |
b) raw material for the object:
Example:
bought you one Diamond of engagement. (diamond ring/alliance) |
c) part by whole:
Example:
didn't have a roof to house it. (didn't have a house) |
d) author for the work:
Example:
Got a Picasso authentic at home. (a painting done by Picasso) |
e) concrete through abstract:
Example:
Was true to the flag. (faithful to the motherland) |
f) brand for the product:
Example:
let's eat one McDonalds. (eating a McDonald's sandwich) |
g) continent (container) by content:
Example:
Served one dish delicious starter. (they served a meal, portion) |
h) singular by plural:
Example:
O Japanese is considered the hardest worker. (People from Japan) |
By Mariana Rigonatto
Graduated in Letters
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
RIGONATTO, Mariana. "What is metonymy?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/portugues/o-que-e-metonimia.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
