metonym (noun) - a word or phrase used to stand for a larger concept or a closely related object, e.g. calling a business executive a suit [met-uh-nim]
BREAKDOWN: META- (change) + -ONYM (name)
metonymy is a figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another word that it is closely linked to
See also: synecdoche
“Truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, anthropomorphisms, in short, a sum of human relations which were poetically and rhetorically heightened, transferred, and adorned, and after long use seem solid, canonical, and binding to a nation. Truths are illusions about which it has been forgotten that they are illusions.” —Friedrich Nietzsche
[Fun Word Friday introduces more advanced or technical words that are based on word roots. Yes, these words may still be tested on standardized exams. Try to use this word in a sentence today!]