single word requests - When part of an object becomes the name for the whole



Is there a word to describe when a part becomes the name for the whole, particularly in a jargon sense?


For example, a door to door salesman at the end of the day might talk about how many "doors" he visited, rather than houses, or a pathology nurse might talk about "doing veins" rather seeing patients?


I read a definition along these lines years and years ago, but I've completely forgotten the word. If possible I'm trying to find this same word again.



Answer



I'd say that would be a synecdoche.



A synecdoche (/sɪˈnɛkdəkiː/, si-nek-də-kee; from Greek συνεκδοχή, synekdoche, lit. "simultaneous understanding")1 is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something or vice versa



Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synecdoche


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