Metonymy is a term for a figure of speech. Metonymy a thing or concept is indirectly named. It is not called by its own name, but by the name of something which is closely related or implicit in the context.. One of the most common metonyms is the use of the capital city of a country to mean the government of that country, which is usually in the capital city.

Metonymy (/ m ɛ ˈ t ɒ n ə m i /) is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.. Etymology. The words metonymy and metonym come from the Greek μετωνυμία, metōnymía, "a change of name", from μετά, metá, "after, post, beyond", and -ωνυμία, -ōnymía, a suffix that names figures of ...