\Syn*ec"do*che\ (s[i^]n*[e^]k"d[-o]*k[-e]), n. [L.
synecdoche, Gr. synekdochh`, fr. to receive jointly; sy`n
with + ? to receive; ? out + ? to receive.] (Rhet.)
A figure or trope by which a part of a thing is put for the
whole (as, fifty sail for fifty ships), or the whole for a
part (as, the smiling year for spring), the species for the
genus (as, cutthroat for assassin), the genus for the species
(as, a creature for a man), the name of the material for the
thing made, etc. --Bain.