metonymic
/ˌmɛt.əˈnɪm.ɪk/adjective, noun
metonymic is an adjective meaning “Of, or relating to, a word or phrase that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled M-E-T-O-N-Y-M-I-C and has 4 syllables, and it appears about once in every 37 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does metonymic mean?
adjective
- 1
Of, or relating to, a word or phrase that names an object from a single characteristic of it or of a closely related object.
The British government is often referred to by the metonymic expression "Downing Street".
noun
- 1
Synonym of metonym, an instance of metonymy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce metonymic?
- US /ˌmɛt.əˈnɪm.ɪk/
Metonymic has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-metonymic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of metonymic
- more metonymic comparative
- most metonymic superlative
- metonymics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is metonymic?
Metonymic appears about once in every 37 million words in written English, the 187,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Metonymic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of, or relating to, a word that names an object from a single characteristic of :
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | métonymique |
| Spanish | metonímico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does metonymic come from?
From Ancient Greek μετωνυμικός (metōnumikós, “of or like metonymy”), from μετωνυμία (metōnumía, “change of name”), from μετά (metá, “other”) + ὄνυμα (ónuma, “name”). By surface analysis, metonym + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).