Pars pro toto (Latin for 'a part (taken) for the whole';/ˌpɑːrzproʊˈtoʊtoʊ/;[1]Latin:[ˈparsproːˈtoːtoː]),[2] is afigure of speech where the name of aportion of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its entirety. It is distinct from amerism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; andmetonymy, where an object, place, or concept is called by something or some place associated with it. It is a form ofsynecdoche, which can refer both topars pro toto and its inverse,totum pro parte (Latin for 'the whole for a part').
In the context of language,pars pro toto means that something is named after a part or subset of it or after a limited characteristic, which in itself is not necessarily representative of the whole. For example, "glasses" is apars pro toto name for something that consists of more than just two pieces of glass (the frame, nose bridge, temples, etc. as well as the lenses).Pars pro toto usage is especially common in political geography, with examples including "Russia" or "Russians", referring to the political institution (both historically and contemporary) or its people; "Holland" for theNetherlands; and, particularly in languages other than English, using the translation of "England" in that language to refer toGreat Britain or theUnited Kingdom. Among English speakers, "Britain" is a commonpars pro toto shorthand for the United Kingdom.
An example of apars pro toto in geography is the use of the capital to refer generally to the country such asWashington for theUnited States,Beijing forChina, orMoscow forRussia. When the capital is used to refer specifically to the country's government, the figure of speech is a metonymy rather than apars pro toto.
Certainplace names are sometimes used as synecdoches to denote an area greater than that warranted by their strict meaning:
"TheBalkans" to include historically related parts of southeastern Europe as well as the Balkan Peninsula, or for the countries that made up the formerYugoslavia.
Java, for the main island and the surrounding islands (Madura, Thousand Islands, and hundred others) under the jurisdiction of the 6 provinces in Indonesia.
Chevrolet,Holden (inOceania), orOpel (inEurope) to represent the entirety ofGeneral Motors, where using the most common GM brand in each region represents the entirety of General Motors
^"pars pro toto".Pars pro toto - definition of pars pro toto in English | Oxford Dictionaries.Oxford Living Dictionaries: English. Archived fromthe original on September 26, 2016. Retrieved2018-01-19.
^"pars pro toto".Merriam-Webster. 2012-08-31. Retrieved2014-02-03.
