Metonymies are frequently used in literature and in everyday speech. A metonymy is a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen because it is a well-known characteristic of the word.
One famous example of metonymy is the saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword," which originally came from Edward Bulwer Lytton's play Richelieu. This sentence has two examples of metonymy:

• The "pen" stands in for "the written word."
• The "sword" stands in for "military aggression and force."

Metonymy: Stand-Ins for Other Words

A Word Functioning as a Metonymy
Understanding the context of a metonymy is important. For example, the word "pen" is not always standing in for the written word; often, it just refers to the physical object of a pen.
The examples below include both the metonymy and the possible words for which the metonymy would fill in:

• Crown - in place of a royal person
• The White House - in place of the President or others who work there
• The suits - in place of business people
• Dish - for an entire plate of food
• Cup - for a mug
• The Pentagon - to refer to the staff

While these word examples provide a good example of what a metonymy is and how it functions, sentence examples will further help to explain the use of this figure of speech.

Sentences Using a Metonymy
These sentences will further enhance your appreciation and understanding of metonymies. The metonymy is underlined.

• We must wait to hear from the crown until we make any further decisions.
• The White House will be announcing the decision around noon today.
• If we do not fill out the forms properly, the suits will be after us shortly.
• She's planning to serve the dish early in the evening.
• The cup is quite tasty.
• The Pentagon will be revealing the decision later on in the morning.

Purpose of the Metonymy : As with other literary devices, one of the main purposes of using a metonymy is to add flavor to the writing. Instead of just repeatedly saying, "the staff at the restaurant" or naming all of the elements of a dinner each time you want to refer to the meal, one word breaks up some of that awkwardness.
Using a metonymy serves a double purpose - it breaks up any awkwardness of repeating the same phrase over and over and it changes the wording to make the sentence more interesting.

Read more at

 http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-metonymy.html#BIDVGjjzK8oZukl2.99

A proverb (from Latin: proverbium) is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience. They are often metaphorical. A proverb that describes a basic rule of conduct may also be known as a maxim. Proverbs fall into the category of formulaic language.
Proverbs are often borrowed from similar languages and cultures, and sometimes come down to the present through more than one language. Both the Bible (including, but not limited to the Book of Proverbs) and medieval Latin (aided by the work of Erasmus) have played a considerable role in distributing proverbs across Europe. Mieder has concluded that cultures that treat the Bible as their "major spiritual book contain between three hundred and five hundred proverbs that stem from the Bible."^[1] However, almost every culture has examples of its own unique proverbs.
 Proverb can be :
as a noun

*a short popular saying, usually of unknown and ancient origin, that expresses effectively some commonplace truth or useful thought; adage; saw.

*a wise saying or precept; a didactic sentence.

*a person or thing that is commonly regarded as an embodiment or representation of some quality; byword.

*Bible. a profound saying, maxim, or oracular utterance requiring interpretation.

  as a verb (used with object)

*to utter in the form of a proverb.

 *to make (something) the subject of a proverb.

*to make a byword of.  

Proverb in Culture

A brief, memorable saying that expresses a truth or belief, such as “ A friend in need is a friend indeed.” ( See examples under “Proverbs.”.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

 

Proverb in the Bible

a trite maxim; a similitude; a parable. The Hebrew word thus rendered (mashal) has a wide signification. It comes from a root meaning "to be like," "parable." Rendered "proverb" in Isa. 14:4; Hab. 2:6; "dark saying" in Ps. 49:4, Num. 12:8. Ahab's defiant words in answer to the insolent demands of Benhadad, "Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off," is a well known instance of a proverbial saying (1 Kings 20:11).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source

Reference :

 http://www.dictionary.com/browse/proverb

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proverb

In linguistics, a homonym is one of a group of words that share the same pronunciation but have different meanings, whether spelled the same or not. A more restrictive definition sees homonyms as words that are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling).
The relationship between a set of homonyms is called homonymy.
 Examples of homonyms are the pair stalk (part of a plant) and
                                                       stalk (follow/harass a person)
                                            the pair left (past tense of leave) and
                                                         left (opposite of right).
A distinction is sometimes made between "true" homonyms, which are unrelated in origin, such as skate (glide on ice) and skate (the fish), and polysemous homonyms, or polysemes, which have a shared origin, such as mouth (of a river) and mouth (of an animal).
In non-technical contexts, the term "homonym" may be used (somewhat confusingly) to refer to words that are either homographs or homophones.The words row (propel with oars) and row (argument) and row (a linear arrangement of seating) are considered homographs, while the words read (peruse) and reed (waterside plant) would be considered homophones; under this looser definition, both groups of words represent groups of homonyms.

Term	Meaning	Spelling	Pronunciation
Homonym	Different	Same or different	Same
Homograph	Different	Same	Same or different
Homophone	Different	Same or different	Same
Heteronym	Different	Same	Different
Heterograph	Different	Different	Same
Polyseme	Different but related	Same	Same or different
Capitonym	Different when capitalized	Same except for capitalization	Same or different
Synonym	Same	Different	Different
Synophone	Different	Different	Similar but not identical

Venn diagram showing the relationships between homonyms (between blue and green) and related linguistic concepts.

Several similar linguistic concepts are related to homonymy.


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

POLYSEMI

What is polysemi ?

Polysemy is the capacity for a sign (such as a word, phrase, or symbol) to have multiple meanings (that is, multiple semes or sememes and thus multiple senses), usually related by contiguity of meaning within a semantic field.

It is thus usually regarded as distinct from homonymy, in which the multiple meanings of a word may be unconnected or unrelated.

Charles Fillmore and Beryl Atkins’ definition stipulates three elements:

(i)                 the various senses of a polysemous word have a central origin

(ii)               the links between these senses form a network, and

(iii)              understanding the ‘inner’ one contributes to understanding of the ‘outer’ one.

Polysemy is a pivotal concept within disciplines such as media studies and linguistics. The analysis of polysemy, synonymy, and hyponymy and hypernymy is vital to taxonomy and ontology in the information-science senses of those terms. It has applications in pedagogy and machine learning, because they rely on word-sense disambiguation and schemas.

polysemy, language scientific term for ambiguity, see adjective green in the green gate, green thumb, green student, green policy, where the word's meaning varies, often due. metaphorical extensions.

Examples and Observations

• The Word Advances
  "The simplest form of this verb is when it signifies movement forward: 'The advance of the army was rapid.' The word can also mean the state of being in a forward position: 'We were in advance of the rest of the army.' More figuratively, the word can be used to signify promotion in rank or position or salary: 'His advance to stardom was remarkable.' It is also possible to advance an argument in the sense of putting forward reasons for supporting a particular view or course of action: 'I would like to advance the argument that being in debt is a desirable state while interest rates are so low.'"
  (David Rothwell, Dictionary of Homonyms. Wordsworth, 2007)
   
• Polysemy in Advertising
  "Common polysemic puns involve words like bright, naturally, clearly, where the advertiser will want both meanings. This headline ran above a picture of a sheep:

Take it from the manufacturer.
Wool. It's worth more. Naturally.
(American Wool Council, 1980)

Here the pun is a way of attributing wool, not to a manufacturing industry, but to nature."
(Greg Myers, Words in Ads. Routledge, 1994)