Metonymy and synecdoche are rhetorical devices that refer to a thing using something related or part of it, respectively. The difference lies in the relationship between the two elements referred to. While similar, they should be considered as two different devices.
The difference between metonymy and synecdoche can be quite subtle, although it is noteworthy as it involves the relationship between the two objects under discussion. Metonymy is a rhetorical device in which a thing is referred to using something separate but conceptually related. Synecdoche, on the other hand, is a process by which a thing is referred to using something that is part of it. The main difference between metonymy and synecdoche is in the relationship between the object or thing being referred to and the actual term being used.
Metonymy and synecdoche are closely related and quite similar, and this connection can make it difficult to distinguish between the two. This differentiation can be seen most easily by establishing exactly what each concept means. Metonymy is used to refer to a thing by directly referring to something else that it is associated with, but is not actually a part of. This can be seen in contexts and terms such as the phrase “Washington” used to refer to politicians working in Washington, DC, “the class” used to refer to those students who attend a particular class, and “the crown” used to refer to a monarch or other ruling figure who wears a crown as a symbol of power.
While metonymy and synecdoche are similar, there is a difference in how each rhetorical sentence is constructed. Synecdoche also uses a related element to refer to something else, but typically this is done by referring to a part of something to mean the whole. Labor and workers are often referred to as “hands”, while the term “wheels” can be used to refer to an entire machine and the word “lead” is often used to refer to projectiles. In each of these examples, the synecdoche is formed by using something that is a part or component of an item to refer to that whole item.
The difference between metonymy and synecdoche lies in the different relationships between the two elements referred to. In metonymy, these two elements are related in some way, but one is not directly a part or component of another, as is the case with synecdoche. Both metonymy and synecdoche are so similar, however, that some people might see synecdoche as a very specific type of metonymy. The two ideas are often taught separately and should be considered as two different devices that can be used to build rhetorical connections between related concepts or objects.
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