n. [ L. metonymia, Gr. metwnymi`a; meta`, indicating change + 'o`nyma , for 'o`noma a name: cf. F. métonymie. See Name. ] (Rhet.) A trope in which one word is put for another that suggests it; as, we say, a man keeps a good table instead of good provisions; we read Virgil, that is, his poems; a man has a warm heart, that is, warm affections; a city dweller has no wheels, that is, no automobile. [ 1913 Webster ]