in rhetoric, is a trope in which one name is put for another, on account of the near relation there is between them. By this trope any of the most significant circumstances of a thing are put for the thing itself. The metonymy is used with most advantage in the following cases. 1. When the narration stands for the action, and what the poet or historian describes he is said to do; which is a lively manner of expression, exceeding the common, as much as action goes beyond description, or life excels painting. 2. When the name of any relation is put for the duty it requires, and the benevolence and tendernefs that may be expected from it. Thus Anacreon says, that through money there is no longer any such thing as brethren or parents in the world. 3. When the word which is used for a proper name, is either taken from the person's country, family, profession, personal circumstance, or resemblance to some other; thus, as Sardanapalus was a monster of debauchery, and Nero of cruelty, to call a very debauched person a Sardanapalus, and a cruel one Nero, brands them much deeper than to call one debauched, and the other cruel.