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-	{{Template}}In [[rhetoric]], '''metonymy''' ({{IPAEng|mɨˈtɒnɨmi}}) is the use of a word for a concept with which the original concept behind this word is associated. Metonymy may be instructively contrasted with metaphor. Both figures involve the substitution of one term for another. While in metaphor this substitution is based on similarity, in metonymy the substitution is based on contiguity.	+	{{Template}}In [[rhetoric]], '''metonymy''' is the use of a [[word]] for a [[concept]] with which the original concept behind this word is [[associated]]. Metonymy may be instructively contrasted with metaphor. Both figures involve the substitution of one term for another. While in metaphor this substitution is based on similarity, in metonymy the substitution is based on contiguity.
	[[Metaphor]] example: The ship ''plowed'' through the sea. (''plowed'' instead of ''navigated'')		[[Metaphor]] example: The ship ''plowed'' through the sea. (''plowed'' instead of ''navigated'')

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In rhetoric, metonymy is the use of a word for a concept with which the original concept behind this word is associated. Metonymy may be instructively contrasted with metaphor. Both figures involve the substitution of one term for another. While in metaphor this substitution is based on similarity, in metonymy the substitution is based on contiguity.

Metaphor example: The ship plowed through the sea. (plowed instead of navigated)

Metonymy example: The sails crossed the ocean. (sails instead of ship with sails)

In cognitive linguistics, metonymy refers to the use of a single characteristic to identify a more complex entity and is one of the basic characteristics of cognition. It is common for people to take one well-understood or easy-to-perceive aspect of something and use that aspect to stand either for the thing as a whole or for some other aspect or part of it.