Pars pro toto

Pars pro toto is Latin for "a part (taken) for the whole" where the name of a portion of an object or concept represents the entire object or context. It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts.

In the context of language, it means that something is named after a part of it, or after a limited characteristic, in itself not necessarily representative for the whole. For example, "glasses" is a pars pro toto name for something that consists of more than just two pieces of glass. Pars pro toto is a common device in iconography, where a particular icon can stand for a complete set of characteristics. Examples of common pars pro toto usage in political geography include "Russia" or "Russians", for the entire former Russian Empire or former Soviet Union or its people, Taiwan for Republic of China, Holland for the Netherlands, and, particularly in languages other than English, using the translation of "England" in that language for "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". Among English speakers "Great Britain" or "Britain" is a common pars pro toto shorthand for the United Kingdom.

The opposite of a pars pro toto is a totum pro parte, in which the whole is used to describe a part, such as widespread use of "America" (which can also refer to both the South and North American continents) in place of "United States of America", "United States" or "USA". The term 'synecdoche' is used for both, as well as similar metaphors, though in Greek it literally means 'simultaneous understanding'.

Pars pro toto (and totum pro parte) can be imprecise, controversial or even offensive. For example, many English speakers call the Republic of Georgia "Russian Georgia" to distinguish it from the U.S. state of the same name stemming from the practice of calling the Soviet Union "Russia." This is a practice many Georgians may object to owing both to their own history, and to the often adversarial state of Georgia–Russia relations. Another example is the UK. Many people of the United Kingdom are unhappy with the generalization as England for the United Kingdom, partly because those not in England want to be referred to individually, and partly because those in England don't want to be thought of as the only people within the United Kingdom. The term "British" to describe all within the United Kingdom is also looked down upon.

In geography

Certain place names are sometimes used to denote an area greater than that warranted by their strict meaning:

• "Antigua" for Antigua and Barbuda
• "Austria" for the former Austro-Hungarian Empire or the Habsburg-ruled lands
• "The Balkans" for the entire Balkan Peninsula and historically-related parts of south eastern Europe
• "Bohemia" for the former Czech lands, now the Czech Republic
• "Bosnia" for Bosnia and Herzegovina
• "England" for Great Britain, the British Isles and/or the United Kingdom (see British Isles (terminology))
• "Great Britain" for the United Kingdom
• "Holland" for the Netherlands—see Netherlands (terminology)
• "Kathmandu" for all three districts inside Kathmandu Valley: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur District, Nepal.
• "Lithuania" for Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Russia and Samogitia
• "Madras"/"Tamil" when referring to someone from South India
• "Mesopotamia" for the Middle East
• "Monte Carlo" for Monaco
• "Newfoundland" for what is now called Newfoundland and Labrador
• "Poland" for the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
• "Portugal" for the former United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815–1822)
• "Prussia" for the former German Empire
• "Russia" for the former Soviet Union
• "Saint Vincent" for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• "Santo Domingo" for the Dominican Republic
• "Scandinavia" for the Nordic countries
• "Serbia" for the former union of Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006, named Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before 2003)
• "Tahiti" for French Polynesia
• "Taiwan" for Republic of China, which consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu
• "Trinidad" for Trinidad and Tobago
• "Turkey" for the Ottoman Empire
• "Uruk" city in Ur, the name has been adopted for Iraq
• "Vietnam" for the former French Indochina
• The use of capitals to denote capital regions or even entire countries (e.g., "Canberra" for the Australian Capital Territory, "Ancient Rome" for the Roman Empire)

See also

• Metonymy
• Totum pro parte