Metonymy

“Metonymy: (Greek ‘name change’) A figure of speech in which the name or an attribute or a thing is substituted for the thing itself. Common examples are The Stage’ for the theatrical profession; ‘The Crown’ for the monarchy; ‘The Bench’ for the judiciary; ‘Dante’ for his works. See also ANTONOMASIA; METALEPSIS; SYNECHDOCHE.”

Excerpted from: Cuddon, J.A. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. New York: Penguin, 1992.