Metonymy ( / m ɪ ˈ t ɒ n ɪ m i , m ɛ -/ ) is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.
95-451: St Mary Axe was a medieval parish in the City of London whose name survives as that of the street which formerly occupied it. The Church of St Mary Axe was demolished in 1561 and its parish united with that of St Andrew Undershaft , which is situated on the corner of St Mary Axe and Leadenhall Street . The site of the former church is now occupied by Fitzwilliam House, a fact acknowledged by
190-593: A Beadle , an ancient position which is now largely ceremonial whose main remaining function is the running of an annual Wardmote of electors, representatives and officials. At the Wardmote the ward's Alderman appoints at least one Deputy for the year ahead, and Wardmotes are also held during elections. Each ward also has a Ward Club, which is similar to a residents' association . The wards are ancient and their number has changed three times since time immemorial : Following boundary changes in 1994, and later reform of
285-461: A blue plaque on the building's façade. Nearby parishes include the medieval Great St Helen's (1210) and St Ethelburga (14th century). The street name may derive from a combination of the church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a neighbouring tavern which prominently displayed a sign with an image of an axe , or simply from the church name itself, which may have come from the axes used by
380-519: A change of government at Westminster meant the option was not taken up. The city as a distinct polity survived despite its position within the London conurbation and numerous local government reforms . Supporting this status, the city was a special parliamentary borough that elected four members to the unreformed House of Commons , who were retained after the Reform Act 1832 ; reduced to two under
475-508: A confrontation that included Lord Mayor William Walworth . In 1450, rebel forces again occupied the City during Jack Cade's Rebellion before being ousted by London citizens following a bloody battle on London Bridge. In 1550, the area south of London Bridge in Southwark came under the control of the City with the establishment of the ward of Bridge Without . The city was burnt severely on
570-407: A firm of sorcerers headed by J. W. Wells. This is itself a reference to Gilbert and Sullivan 's The Sorcerer . In the song "My Name Is John Wellington Wells", the lyric renders his address as "Number Seventy, Simmery Axe"; this reflects the fact that some Londoners pronounce the street's name as "S'M'ry Axe" rather than enunciating it fully. The Tom Holt novels and The Sorcerer were written before
665-666: A legacy of its uninterrupted integrity as a corporate city since the Anglo-Saxon period and its singular relationship with the Crown . Historically its system of government was not unusual, but it was not reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 and little changed by later reforms, so that it is the only local government in the UK where elections are not run on the basis of one vote for every adult citizen. It
760-549: A major commercial centre in Roman Britain until its abandonment during the 5th century . Archaeologist Leslie Wallace notes that, because extensive archaeological excavation has not revealed any signs of a significant pre-Roman presence, "arguments for a purely Roman foundation of London are now common and uncontroversial." At its height, the Roman city had a population of approximately 45,000–60,000 inhabitants. Londinium
855-488: A major meeting point for businesses. London was ranked second (after New York) in the Global Financial Centres Index , published in 2022. The insurance industry is concentrated in the eastern side of the city, around Lloyd's building . Since about the 1980s, a secondary financial district has existed outside the city, at Canary Wharf, 2.5 miles (4 km) to the east. The legal profession has
950-538: A major presence in the northern and western sides of the City, especially in the Temple and Chancery Lane areas where the Inns of Court are located, two of which ( Inner Temple and Middle Temple ) fall within the City of London boundary. Primarily a business district, the City has a small resident population of 8,583 based on 2021 census figures, but over 500,000 are employed there (as of 2019) and some estimates put
1045-634: A name of a street and an area of the City of Westminster between Westminster and the City of London. Following the Battle of Hastings , William the Conqueror marched on London, reaching as far as Southwark , but failed to get across London Bridge or defeat the Londoners. He eventually crossed the River Thames at Wallingford , pillaging the land as he went. Rather than continuing the war, Edgar
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#17327874189521140-437: A new domain (a conversation). Thus, metaphors work by presenting a target set of meanings and using them to suggest a similarity between items, actions, or events in two domains, whereas metonymy calls up or references a specific domain (here, removing items from the sea). Sometimes, metaphor and metonymy may both be at work in the same figure of speech, or one could interpret a phrase metaphorically or metonymically. For example,
1235-497: A number of occasions, the worst being in 1123 and in the Great Fire of London in 1666. Both of these fires were referred to as the Great Fire. After the fire of 1666, a number of plans were drawn up to remodel the city and its street pattern into a renaissance -style city with planned urban blocks, squares and boulevards. These plans were almost entirely not taken up, and the medieval street pattern re-emerged almost intact. In
1330-427: A representative fashion. Bodies employing fewer than 10 people may appoint 1 voter; those employing 10 to 50 people 1 voter for every 5 employees; those employing more than 50 people 10 voters and 1 additional voter for each 50 employees beyond the first 50. The Act also changed other aspects of an earlier act relating to elections in the city, from 1957. Inner Temple and Middle Temple (which neighbour each other) in
1425-479: A self-governing unit within the wider city. They can be described as electoral/political divisions; ceremonial, geographic and administrative entities; sub-divisions of the city. Each ward has an Alderman , who until the mid-1960s held office for life but since put themselves up for re-election at least every 6 years, and are the only directly elected Aldermen in the United Kingdom . Wards continue to have
1520-428: A suffix that names figures of speech, from ὄνυμα ( ónuma ) or ὄνομα ( ónoma ) 'name'. Metonymy and related figures of speech are common in everyday speech and writing. Synecdoche and metalepsis are considered specific types of metonymy. Polysemy , the capacity for a word or phrase to have multiple meanings, sometimes results from relations of metonymy. Both metonymy and metaphor involve
1615-457: A turn off Houndsditch , with traffic flowing one-way southbound, and it originates at its southern end as a turn off Leadenhall Street, with traffic flowing one-way northbound. Both one-way portions of St Mary Axe converge at Bevis Marks , where traffic is forced westward into Camomile Street . Number 70 St Mary Axe appears in several novels by the British author Tom Holt as the address of
1710-415: Is Michael Mainelli . The City is made up of 25 wards , with administration at the historic Guildhall . Other historic sites include St Paul's Cathedral , Royal Exchange , Mansion House , Old Bailey , and Smithfield Market . Although not within the City, the adjacent Tower of London , built to dominate the City, is part of its old defensive perimeter. The City has responsibility for five bridges across
1805-476: Is a "metonymy of a metonymy". Many cases of polysemy originate as metonyms: for example, "chicken" means the meat as well as the animal; "crown" for the object, as well as the institution. Metonymy works by the contiguity (association) between two concepts, whereas the term "metaphor" is based upon their analogous similarity. When people use metonymy, they do not typically wish to transfer qualities from one referent to another as they do with metaphor. There
1900-820: Is a metonym for the state in all its aspects. In recent Israeli usage, the term "Balfour" came to refer to the Israeli Prime Minister 's residence, located on Balfour Street in Jerusalem, to all the streets around it where demonstrations frequently take place, and also to the Prime Minister and his family who live in the residence. Western culture studied poetic language and deemed it to be rhetoric . A. Al-Sharafi supports this concept in his book Textual Metonymy , "Greek rhetorical scholarship at one time became entirely poetic scholarship." Philosophers and rhetoricians thought that metaphors were
1995-482: Is administered by the City of London Corporation , headed by the Lord Mayor of London (not to be confused with the separate Mayor of London , an office created only in the year 2000), which is responsible for a number of functions and has interests in land beyond the city's boundaries. Unlike other English local authorities, the corporation has two council bodies: the (now largely ceremonial) Court of Aldermen and
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#17327874189522090-474: Is located at Smithfield , and is undergoing a long-awaited regeneration after doubts as to its continuing use during the 1990s. The city is the third largest UK patron of the arts. It oversees the Barbican Centre and subsidises several important performing arts companies. The London Port Health Authority, which is the responsibility of the corporation, is responsible for all port health functions on
2185-405: Is no physical link between a language and a bird. The reason the metaphors "phoenix" and "cuckoo" are used is that on the one hand hybridic "Israeli" is based on Hebrew , which, like a phoenix, rises from the ashes; and on the other hand, hybridic "Israeli" is based on Yiddish , which like a cuckoo, lays its egg in the nest of another bird, tricking it to believe that it is its own egg. Furthermore,
2280-627: Is not one of the London boroughs , a status reserved for the other 32 districts (including Greater London's only other city, the City of Westminster ). It is also a separate ceremonial county, being an enclave surrounded by the ceremonial county of Greater London , and is the smallest ceremonial county in England. The City of London is known colloquially as the Square Mile , as it is 1.12 sq mi (716.80 acres; 2.90 km ) in area. Both
2375-440: Is nothing press-like about reporters or crown-like about a monarch, but "the press" and "the crown" are both common metonyms. Some uses of figurative language may be understood as both metonymy and metaphor; for example, the relationship between "a crown" and a "king" could be interpreted metaphorically (i.e., the king, like his gold crown, could be seemingly stiff yet ultimately malleable, over-ornate, and consistently immobile). In
2470-400: Is the domain of metonymy. In contrast, the metaphorical phrase "fishing for information" transfers the concept of fishing into a new domain. If someone is "fishing" for information, we do not imagine that the person is anywhere near the ocean; rather, we transpose elements of the action of fishing (waiting, hoping to catch something that cannot be seen, probing, and most importantly, trying) into
2565-706: Is unique in the United Kingdom as it is not conducted by the Electoral Commission or a local government boundary commission every 8 to 12 years, which is the case for all other wards in Great Britain . Particular churches, livery company halls and other historic buildings and structures are associated with a ward, such as St Paul's Cathedral with Castle Baynard , and London Bridge with Bridge; boundary changes in 2003 removed some of these historic connections. Each ward elects an alderman to
2660-739: The Broadgate Tower , the Heron Tower and 22 Bishopsgate . The main residential section of the City today is the Barbican Estate , constructed between 1965 and 1976. The Museum of London was based there until March 2023 (due to reopen in West Smithfield in 2026), whilst a number of other services provided by the corporation are still maintained on the Barbican Estate. The city has a unique political status,
2755-832: The Carausian Revolt in Britain. In the 3rd and 4th centuries, the city was under attack from Picts , Scots, and Saxon raiders. The decline continued, both for Londinium and the Empire, and in AD 410 the Romans withdrew entirely from Britain. Many of the Roman public buildings in Londinium by this time had fallen into decay and disuse, and gradually after the formal withdrawal the city became almost (if not, at times, entirely) uninhabited. The centre of trade and population moved away from
2850-762: The City of London Police —the Common Council (the main body of the corporation) is the police authority . The corporation also run the Hampstead Heath Constabulary , Epping Forest Keepers and the City of London market constabularies (whose members are no longer attested as constables but retain the historic title). The majority of Greater London is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service , based at New Scotland Yard . The city has one hospital, St Bartholomew's Hospital , also known as 'Barts'. Founded in 1123, it
2945-552: The Court of Aldermen , and commoners (the City equivalent of a councillor ) to the Court of Common Council of the corporation. Only electors who are Freemen of the City of London are eligible to stand. The number of commoners a ward sends to the Common Council varies from two to ten, depending on the number of electors in each ward. Since the 2003 review it has been agreed that the four more residential wards: Portsoken , Queenhithe , Aldersgate and Cripplegate together elect 20 of
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3040-599: The Court of Common Council . The Court of Aldermen represents the wards, with each ward (irrespective of size) returning one alderman. The chief executive of the Corporation holds the ancient office of Town Clerk of London . The city is a ceremonial county which has a Commission of Lieutenancy headed by the Lord Mayor instead of a Lord-Lieutenant and has two Sheriffs instead of a High Sheriff (see list of Sheriffs of London ), quasi-judicial offices appointed by
3135-622: The Porte . A place (or places) can represent an entire industry. For instance: Wall Street , used metonymically, can stand for the entire U.S. financial and corporate banking sector ; K Street for Washington, D.C.'s lobbying industry or lobbying in the United States in general; Hollywood for the U.S. film industry , and the people associated with it; Broadway for the American commercial theatrical industry ; Madison Avenue for
3230-633: The Prime Minister of Spain , and Vatican for the pope , Holy See and Roman Curia . Other names of addresses or locations can become convenient shorthand names in international diplomacy , allowing commentators and insiders to refer impersonally and succinctly to foreign ministries with impressive and imposing names as (for example) the Quai d'Orsay , the Wilhelmstrasse , the Kremlin , and
3325-775: The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ; and ceased to be a separate constituency under the Representation of the People Act 1948 . Since then the city is a minority (in terms of population and area) of the Cities of London and Westminster . The city's population fell rapidly in the 19th century and through most of the 20th century, as people moved outwards in all directions to London's vast suburbs , and many residential buildings were demolished to make way for office blocks. Like many areas of London and other British cities,
3420-653: The Thames in its capacity as trustee of the Bridge House Estates : Blackfriars Bridge , Millennium Bridge , Southwark Bridge , London Bridge and Tower Bridge . The City is a major business and financial centre, with both the Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange based in the City. Throughout the 19th century, the City was the world's primary business centre, and it continues to be
3515-856: The U.S. State Department , Langley for the Central Intelligence Agency , Quantico for either the Federal Bureau of Investigation academy and forensic laboratory or the Marine Corps base of the same name , Zhongnanhai for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party , Malacañang for the President of the Philippines , their advisers and Office of the President , "La Moncloa" for
3610-657: The Worshipful Company of Skinners , who were patrons. The sign of an axe is reported to have been present over the east end of the church. The street St Mary Axe is now most notable for the Baltic Exchange at No. 38, and The Gherkin at No. 30, a distinctively shaped skyscraper built on the site of the former buildings of the Baltic Exchange and the UK Chamber of Shipping (destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1992). The street originates at its northern end as
3705-469: The ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Bishop of London . Within the city, the Corporation owns and runs both Smithfield Market and Leadenhall Market . It owns land beyond its boundaries, including open spaces (parks, forests and commons) in and around Greater London, including most of Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath . The Corporation owns Old Spitalfields Market and Billingsgate Fish Market , in
3800-673: The government of Kenya , the Kremlin for the Russian presidency, Chausseestraße and Pullach for the German Federal Intelligence Service , Number 10 , Downing Street or Whitehall for the prime minister of the United Kingdom and the UK civil service , the White House and Capitol Hill for the executive and legislative branches, respectively, of the United States federal government, Foggy Bottom for
3895-470: The livery companies , an ancient political system based on the representation and protection of trades ( guilds ). Senior members of the livery companies are known as liverymen and form the Common Hall, which chooses the lord mayor, the sheriffs and certain other officers. The city is made up of 25 wards . They are survivors of the medieval government system that allowed a very local area to exist as
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3990-719: The tidal part of the Thames , including the Port of London and related seaports, and London City Airport . The Corporation oversees the Bridge House Estates , which maintains Blackfriars Bridge , Millennium Bridge , Southwark Bridge , London Bridge and Tower Bridge . The City's flag flies over Tower Bridge, although neither footing is in the city. Metonym The words metonymy and metonym come from Ancient Greek μετωνυμία ( metōnumía ) 'a change of name'; from μετά ( metá ) 'after, post, beyond' and -ωνυμία ( -ōnumía ) ,
4085-400: The 'square mile' and held 86% of the population, and these were in fact similar to and named after four City of London wards: The city has a unique electoral system. Most of its voters are representatives of businesses and other bodies that occupy premises in the city. Its ancient wards have very unequal numbers of voters. In elections, both the businesses based in the city and the residents of
4180-433: The 100 commoners, whereas the business-dominated remainder elect the remaining 80 commoners. 2003 and 2013 boundary changes have increased the residential emphasis of the mentioned four wards. Census data provides eight nominal rather than 25 real wards, all of varying size and population. Being subject to renaming and definition at any time, these census 'wards' are notable in that four of the eight wards accounted for 67% of
4275-521: The 1630s the Crown sought to have the Corporation of the City of London extend its jurisdiction to surrounding areas. In what is sometimes called the "great refusal", the Corporation said no to the King, which in part accounts for its unique government structure to the present. By the late 16th century, London increasingly became a major centre for banking, international trade and commerce. The Royal Exchange
4370-534: The American advertising industry; and Silicon Valley for the American technology industry. The High Street (of which there are over 5,000 in Britain) is a term commonly used to refer to the entire British retail sector. Common nouns and phrases can also be metonyms: " red tape " can stand for bureaucracy , whether or not that bureaucracy uses actual red tape to bind documents. In Commonwealth realms , The Crown
4465-490: The Barbican) dramatically altering the urban landscape. But the destruction of the older historic fabric allowed the construction of modern and larger-scale developments, whereas in those parts not so badly affected by bomb damage the City retains its older character of smaller buildings. The street pattern, which is still largely medieval, was altered slightly in places, although there is a more recent trend of reversing some of
4560-546: The City fell victim to large scale and highly destructive aerial bombing during World War II , especially in the Blitz . Whilst St Paul's Cathedral survived the onslaught, large swathes of the area did not and the particularly heavy raids of late December 1940 led to a firestorm called the Second Great Fire of London . There was a major rebuilding programme in the decades following the war, in some parts (such as at
4655-406: The City vote. The City of London Corporation was not reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , because it had a more extensive electoral franchise than any other borough or city; in fact, it widened this further with its own equivalent legislation allowing one to become a freeman without being a liveryman . In 1801, the city had a population of about 130,000, but increasing development of
4750-501: The City, namely the City of London Corporation , is unique in the UK and has some unusual responsibilities for a local council, such as being the police authority. It is also unusual in having responsibilities and ownerships beyond its boundaries, e.g. Hampstead Heath . The corporation is headed by the Lord Mayor of the City of London (an office separate from, and much older than, the Mayor of London ). The Lord Mayor, as of November 2023,
4845-454: The Roman evacuation and abandonment of Londinium, was rebuilt by the Saxons, but was periodically destroyed by Viking raids and storms. As the focus of trade and population was moved back to within the old Roman walls, the older Saxon settlement of Lundenwic was largely abandoned and gained the name of Ealdwic (the "old settlement"). The name survives today as Aldwych (the "old market-place"),
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#17327874189524940-583: The Royal Exchange. Immediately to the south of Cornhill, Lombard Street was the location from 1691 of Lloyd's Coffee House , which became the world-leading insurance market. London's insurance sector continues to be based in the area, particularly in Lime Street . In 1708, Christopher Wren 's masterpiece, St Paul's Cathedral , was completed on his birthday. The first service had been held on 2 December 1697, more than 10 years earlier. It replaced
5035-555: The Viking occupation and raids. While London, and indeed England, were afterwards subjected to further periods of Viking and Danish raids and occupation, the establishment of the City of London and the Kingdom of England prevailed. In the 10th century, Athelstan permitted eight mints to be established, compared with six in his capital, Winchester , indicating the wealth of the city. London Bridge, which had fallen into ruin following
5130-526: The borders of the City of London, most notably during this period towards the West End and Westminster. Expansion continued and became more rapid by the beginning of the 19th century, with London growing in all directions. To the East the Port of London grew rapidly during the century, with the construction of many docks, needed as the Thames at the City could not cope with the volume of trade. The arrival of
5225-465: The business vote in the city, there was a major boundary and electoral representation revision of the wards in 2003, and they were reviewed again in 2010 for change in 2013, though not to such a dramatic extent. The review was conducted by senior officers of the corporation and senior judges of the Old Bailey ; the wards are reviewed by this process to avoid malapportionment . The procedure of review
5320-597: The city as a central business district led to this falling to below 5,000 after the Second World War. It has risen slightly to around 9,000 since, largely due to the development of the Barbican Estate . In 2009, the business vote was about 24,000, greatly exceeding residential voters. As the City of London Corporation has not been affected by other municipal legislation over the period of time since then, its electoral practice has become increasingly anomalous. Uniquely for city or borough elections, its elections remain independent-dominated. The business or " non-residential vote "
5415-511: The concepts they express." Some artists have used actual words as metonyms in their paintings. For example, Miró 's 1925 painting "Photo: This is the Color of My Dreams" has the word "photo" to represent the image of his dreams. This painting comes from a series of paintings called peintures-poésies (paintings-poems) which reflect Miró's interest in dreams and the subconscious and the relationship of words, images, and thoughts. Picasso , in his 1911 painting "Pipe Rack and Still Life on Table" inserts
5510-412: The construction of tall office buildings including the 600-foot (183 m), 47-storey NatWest Tower , the first skyscraper in the UK. By the 2010s, office space development had intensified in the City, especially in the central, northern and eastern parts, with skyscrapers including 30 St. Mary Axe ("the Gherkin"'), Leadenhall Building ("the Cheesegrater"), 20 Fenchurch Street ("the Walkie-Talkie"),
5605-459: The current office building at 70 St Mary Axe was constructed. 51°30′52″N 0°04′52″W / 51.5144°N 0.0810°W / 51.5144; -0.0810 City of London The City of London , also known as the City , is a city , ceremonial county and local government district that contains the ancient centre, and constitutes, along with Canary Wharf , the primary central business district (CBD) of London and one of
5700-423: The extent that one will be used in place of another." Cicero viewed metonymy as more of a stylish rhetorical method and described it as being based on words, but motivated by style. Metonymy became important in French structuralism through the work of Roman Jakobson . In his 1956 essay "The Metaphoric and Metonymic Poles", Jakobson relates metonymy to the linguistic practice of [syntagmatic] combination and to
5795-436: The first bishop to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Saxons and their king, Sæberht . Sæberht's uncle and overlord, Æthelberht , king of Kent , built a church dedicated to St Paul in London, as the seat of the new bishop. It is assumed, although unproven, that this first Anglo-Saxon cathedral stood on the same site as the later medieval and the present cathedrals. Alfred the Great , King of Wessex occupied and began
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#17327874189525890-460: The fundamental dichotomy in trope was between metaphor and metonymy, Burke argues that the fundamental dichotomy is between irony and synecdoche, which he also describes as the dichotomy between dialectic and representation, or again between reduction and perspective. In addition to its use in everyday speech, metonymy is a figure of speech in some poetry and in much rhetoric . Greek and Latin scholars of rhetoric made significant contributions to
5985-402: The leading financial centres of the world. It constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans in the 1st century AD to the Middle Ages , but the modern area referred to as London has since grown far beyond the City of London boundary. The City is now only a small part of the metropolis of Greater London , though it remains a notable part of central London . The City of London
6080-409: The literary practice of realism . He explains: The primacy of the metaphoric process in the literary schools of Romanticism and symbolism has been repeatedly acknowledged, but it is still insufficiently realized that it is the predominance of metonymy which underlies and actually predetermines the so-called 'realistic' trend, which belongs to an intermediary stage between the decline of Romanticism and
6175-430: The metaphor "magpie" is employed because, according to Zuckermann, hybridic "Israeli" displays the characteristics of a magpie, "stealing" from languages such as Arabic and English . Two examples using the term "fishing" help clarify the distinction. The phrase "to fish pearls" uses metonymy, drawing from "fishing" the idea of taking things from the ocean. What is carried across from "fishing fish" to "fishing pearls"
6270-418: The monarch. London's chosen sheriffs also served as the sheriffs for the county of Middlesex . This meant that the City and Middlesex were regarded as one administratively for addressing crime and keeping the peace (not that the county was a dependency of the city). London's sheriffs continued to serve Middlesex until the county was given its own sheriffs again following the Local Government Act 1888 . By 1141
6365-415: The nearly deserted Roman walled city, building quays along the Thames, and laying a new city street plan. Alfred's taking of London and the rebuilding of the old Roman city was a turning point in history, not only as the permanent establishment of the City of London, but also as part of a unifying moment in early England, with Wessex becoming the dominant English kingdom and the repelling (to some degree) of
6460-399: The neighbouring London Borough of Tower Hamlets . It owns and helps fund the Old Bailey , the Central Criminal Court for England and Wales , as a gift to the nation, having begun as the City and Middlesex Sessions. The Honourable The Irish Society , a body closely linked with the corporation, also owns many public spaces in Northern Ireland . The city has its own independent police force,
6555-409: The number of workers in the City to be over 1 million. About three-quarters of the jobs in the City of London are in the financial, professional, and associated business services sectors. The Roman legions established a settlement known as "Londinium" on the current site of the City of London around AD 43. Its bridge over the River Thames turned the city into a road nexus and major port , serving as
6650-438: The object meant, but not called by its own name." The author describes the process of metonymy to us saying that we first figure out what a word means. We then figure out that word's relationship with other words. We understand and then call the word by a name that it is associated with. "Perceived as such then metonymy will be a figure of speech in which there is a process of abstracting a relation of proximity between two words to
6745-453: The original St Paul's, which had been completely destroyed in the Great Fire of London, and is considered to be one of the finest cathedrals in Britain and a fine example of Baroque architecture . The 18th century was a period of rapid growth for London, reflecting an increasing national population, the early stirrings of the Industrial Revolution , and London's role at the centre of the evolving British Empire . The urban area expanded beyond
6840-400: The phrase " lend me your ear " could be analyzed in a number of ways. One could imagine the following interpretations: It is difficult to say which analysis above most closely represents the way a listener interprets the expression, and it is possible that different listeners analyse the phrase in different ways, or even in different ways at different times. Regardless, all three analyses yield
6935-454: The phrase "lands belonging to the crown", the word "crown" is a metonymy . The reason is that monarchs by and large indeed wear a crown, physically. In other words, there is a pre-existent link between "crown" and "monarchy". On the other hand, when Ghil'ad Zuckermann argues that the Israeli language is a "phoenicuckoo cross with some magpie characteristics", he is using metaphors . There
7030-415: The post-war modernist changes made, such as at Paternoster Square . The City suffered terrorist attacks including the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing ( IRA ) and the 7 July 2005 London bombings ( Islamist ). In response to the 1993 bombing, a system of road barriers, checkpoints and surveillance cameras referred to as the " ring of steel " has been maintained to control entry points to the city. The 1970s saw
7125-453: The primary figurative language used in rhetoric. Metaphors served as a better means to attract the audience's attention because the audience had to read between the lines in order to get an understanding of what the speaker was trying to say. Others did not think of metonymy as a good rhetorical method because metonymy did not involve symbolism. Al-Sharafi explains, "This is why they undermined practical and purely referential discourse because it
7220-610: The railways and the Tube meant that London could expand over a much greater area. By the mid-19th century, with London still rapidly expanding in population and area, the City had already become only a small part of the wider metropolis. An attempt was made in 1894 with the Royal Commission on the Amalgamation of the City and County of London to end the distinction between the city and the surrounding County of London, but
7315-551: The resettlement of the old Roman walled area, in 886, and appointed his son-in-law Earl Æthelred of Mercia over it as part of their reconquest of the Viking occupied parts of England. The refortified Anglo-Saxon settlement was known as Lundenburh ("London Fort", a borough ). The historian Asser said that "Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly ... and made it habitable once more." Alfred's "restoration" entailed reoccupying and refurbishing
7410-576: The retention of the business vote argue that it is a cause of institutional inertia. The City of London (Ward Elections) Act 2002 , a private Act of Parliament, reformed the voting system and greatly increased the business franchise, allowing many more businesses to be represented. Under the new system, the number of non-resident voters has doubled from 16,000 to 32,000. Previously disenfranchised firms (and other organisations) are entitled to nominate voters, in addition to those already represented, and all such bodies are now required to choose their voters in
7505-444: The rise of symbolism and is opposed to both. Following the path of contiguous relationships, the realistic author metonymically digresses from the plot to the atmosphere and from the characters to the setting in space and time. He is fond of synecdochic details. In the scene of Anna Karenina 's suicide Tolstoy's artistic attention is focused on the heroine's handbag; and in War and Peace
7600-591: The same interpretation. Thus, metaphor and metonymy, though different in their mechanism, work together seamlessly. Here are some broad kinds of relationships where metonymy is frequently used: A place is often used as a metonym for a government or other official institutions, for example, Brussels for the institutions of the European Union , The Hague for the International Court of Justice or International Criminal Court , Nairobi for
7695-433: The study of metonymy. Metonymy takes many different forms. Synecdoche uses a part to refer to the whole, or the whole to refer to the part. Metalepsis uses a familiar word or a phrase in a new context. For example, "lead foot" may describe a fast driver; lead is proverbially heavy, and a foot exerting more pressure on the accelerator causes a vehicle to go faster (in this context unduly so). The figure of speech
7790-680: The subject-matter." In other words, Isocrates proposes here that metaphor is a distinctive feature of poetic language because it conveys the experience of the world afresh and provides a kind of defamiliarisation in the way the citizens perceive the world. Democritus described metonymy by saying, "Metonymy, that is the fact that words and meaning change." Aristotle discussed different definitions of metaphor, regarding one type as what we know to be metonymy today. Latin scholars also had an influence on metonymy. The treatise Rhetorica ad Herennium states metonymy as, "the figure which draws from an object closely akin or associated an expression suggesting
7885-484: The substitution of one term for another. In metaphor, this substitution is based on some specific analogy between two things, whereas in metonymy the substitution is based on some understood association or contiguity . American literary theorist Kenneth Burke considers metonymy as one of four "master tropes ": metaphor , metonymy, synecdoche , and irony . He discusses them in particular ways in his book A Grammar of Motives . Whereas Roman Jakobson argued that
7980-545: The synecdoches "hair on the upper lip" or "bare shoulders" are used by the same writer to stand for the female characters to whom these features belong. Jakobson's theories were important for Claude Lévi-Strauss , Roland Barthes , Jacques Lacan , and others. Dreams can use metonyms. Metonyms can also be wordless. For example, Roman Jakobson argued that cubist art relied heavily on nonlinguistic metonyms, while surrealist art relied more on metaphors. Lakoff and Turner argued that all words are metonyms: "Words stand for
8075-450: The terms the City and the Square Mile are often used as metonyms for the UK's trading and financial services industries, which continue a notable history of being largely based in the City. The name London is now ordinarily used for a far wider area than just the City. London most often denotes the sprawling London metropolis, or the 32 Greater London boroughs, in addition to the City of London itself. The local authority for
8170-651: The walled Londinium to Lundenwic ("London market"), a settlement to the west, roughly in the modern-day Strand / Aldwych / Covent Garden area. During the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy , the London area came in turn under the Kingdoms of Essex , Mercia , and later Wessex , though from the mid 8th century it was frequently under threat from raids by different groups including the Vikings . Bede records that in AD 604 St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as
8265-431: The western ward of Farringdon Without are within the boundaries and liberties of the City, but can be thought of as independent enclaves . They are two of the few remaining liberties , an old name for a geographic division with special rights. They are extra-parochial areas , historically not governed by the City of London Corporation (and are today regarded as local authorities for most purposes ) and equally outside
8360-465: The whole body of the citizenry was considered to constitute a single community. This ' commune ' was the origin of the City of London Corporation and the citizens gained the right to appoint, with the king's consent, a mayor in 1189—and to directly elect the mayor from 1215. From medieval times, the city has been composed of 25 ancient wards , each headed by an alderman , who chairs Wardmotes , which still take place at least annually. A Folkmoot , for
8455-516: The whole of the City held at the outdoor cross of St Paul's Cathedral , was formerly also held. Many of the medieval offices and traditions continue to the present day, demonstrating the unique nature of the City and its Corporation . In 1381, the Peasants' Revolt affected London. The rebels took the City and the Tower of London, but the rebellion ended after its leader, Wat Tyler, was killed during
8550-578: The Ætheling , Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria surrendered at Berkhamsted . William granted the citizens of London a charter in 1075; the city was one of a few examples of the English retaining some authority. The city was not covered by the Domesday Book . William built three castles around the city, to keep Londoners subdued: Around 1132 the City was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs rather than having sheriffs appointed by
8645-501: Was abolished in other UK local council elections by the Representation of the People Act 1969 , but was preserved in the City of London. The principal reason given by successive UK governments for retaining this mechanism for giving businesses representation, is that the city is "primarily a place for doing business". About 330,000 non-residents constitute the day-time population and use most of its services, far outnumbering residents, who number around 7,000 (2011). By contrast, opponents of
8740-580: Was an ethnically diverse city, with inhabitants from across the Roman Empire, including natives of Britannia, continental Europe , the Middle East, and North Africa. The Romans built the London Wall some time between AD 190 and 225. The boundaries of the Roman city were similar to those of the City of London today, though the City extends further west than Londinium's Ludgate , and the Thames
8835-410: Was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham as a centre of commerce for London's merchants, and gained Royal patronage in 1571. Although no longer used for its original purpose, its location at the corner of Cornhill and Threadneedle Street continues to be the geographical centre of the city's core of banking and financial services, with the Bank of England moving to its present site in 1734, opposite
8930-440: Was seen as banal and not containing anything new, strange or shocking." Greek scholars contributed to the definition of metonymy. For example, Isocrates worked to define the difference between poetic language and non-poetic language by saying that, "Prose writers are handicapped in this regard because their discourse has to conform to the forms and terms used by the citizens and to those arguments which are precise and relevant to
9025-420: Was undredged and thus wider than it is today, with Londinium's shoreline slightly north of the city's present shoreline. The Romans built a bridge across the river, as early as AD 50, near to today's London Bridge. By the time the London Wall was constructed, the city's fortunes were in decline, and it faced problems of plague and fire. The Roman Empire entered a long period of instability and decline , including
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