Abstract

Abstract This essay explores synecdoche as an extended argumentative structure in Roman defenses of rhetoric. While contemporary scholarship often limits synecdoche to semantic substitution or distinguishes it from metonymy, theorists have recognized its potential as a form of argument. In Roman rhetoric, Quintilian describes synecdoche as both a trope of part-whole relations and a parallel argumentative form in Institutio Oratoria with comparable aims and lexical choices. This study examines how Roman rhetoricians, notably Quintilian and Cicero, employed synecdoche in extended arguments in defense of rhetoric. These arguments structured interconnected ideas such as categorical distinctions, hierarchical significance, and temporal sequence by employing synecdochal structures. By comparing ancient definitions and examples, this analysis reveals synecdoche’s capacity to organize complex argumentative discourse, offering a lens to scrutinize its structural and functional role.

Journal
Argumentation
Published
2025-10-30
DOI
10.1007/s10503-025-09679-8
CompPile
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (40) · 6 in this index

  1. Burke, K. 1941. Four master tropes. The Kenyon Review 3(4):421–438.
    The Kenyon Review
  2. Chevallet, Auguste. 1853. de. Origine et formation de la langue française. 2 parties en 3 vols. Dumoulin Impr…
  3. Chrzanowska-Kluczewska, E. 2013. Synecdoche–an underestimated macrofigure? Language and Literature 22(3):233–247.
    Language and Literature  
  4. Cicero, M. T. 1900. Timaeus, ed. C.F.W. Mueller. Lipsiae: Teubner.
  5. Cicero, M. T. 1949. Topica (H. M. Hubbell, Trans). Harvard University Press.
Show all 40 →
  1. Cicero, M. T. 1952. De Inventione. H.M. Hubbell trans. Harvard University Press.
  2. Cicero, M. T. 2001. Cicero on the ideal orator (De Oratore), ed. J. M. May, and J. Wisse. Oxford University Press.
  3. Democritus and the sources of Greek anthropology
  4. Rhetoric Review
  5. Edelstein, L. 1967. The Idea of progress in classical antiquity. Johns Hopkins University.
  6. Fahnestock, J. 2004. Figures of argument. Informal Logic 24(2):115–135.
  7. Fahnestock, J. 2023. Quintilian on Effective Language. The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, ed. Marc van der Po…
  8. Groupe µ Jacques Dubois, Francis Edeline, Jean-Marie Klinkenberg, and Philippe Minguet. 1977. François Pire, …
  9. Havelock, Ε. Α. 1957. The Liberal temper in Greek politics. Princeton University Press.
  10. Jakobson, R., and M. Halle. 1956. Phonology and phonetics. In Fundamentals of Language, 4–51. Mouton.
  11. Argumentation
  12. Kozy, J. 1970. The argumentative use of rhetorical figures. Philosophy & Rhetoric 3(3):141–151.
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  13. Metaphors we live by
  14. Rhetorica
  15. Argumentation
  16. Lucretius. 1910. Lucretius on the nature of Things, trans. Cyril Bailey. Clarendon.
  17. Mangano, F. 2015. Cicero’s list of topics from antiquity to the early middle ages. Revista española De filoso…
    Revista española De filosofía Medieval  
  18. Manilius. 1977. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Harvard Univer…
  19. Argumentation
  20. Synecdoques: Etude d’une figure de rhétorique
  21. Montefusco, L. C. 2023. Quintilian on Invention and Disposition. The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, ed. Marc …
  22. Murphy, J. J. 1998. The Key Role of Habit in Roman Rhetoric and Education, as Described by Quintilian. In Qui…
  23. Nerlich, B. 2010. Synecdoche: A trope, a whole trope, and nothing but a trope. Tropical truth (s): The episte…
  24. Oldenburg, C. 2015. Re characterizing the anecdote: Synecdoche and Ethotic argument in presidential debate rh…
    Communication Studies  
  25. Perelman, C., and L. Olbrechts-Tyteca. 1971. The New Rhetoric. Translated by John Wilkinson. University of No…
  26. Argumentation
  27. Preller, L. 1852. Die vorstellungen der Alten besonders der Griechen von dem ursprunge und Den ältesten Schic…
    Philologus  
  28. Quintilian. 1921. The Orator’s Education, Volume III: Books 6–8. Edited and translated by Donald A. Russell. …
  29. Rhetorica Ad Herennium. 1954. Translated by Harry Caplan. Loeb Classical Library 403. Harvard University Press.
  30. Metaphor in discourse
  31. Seto, K. I. 1999. Distinguishing metonymy from synecdoche. In Metonymy in Language and thought, ed. Klaus-Uwe…
  32. Van der Poel, Edwards and Murphy. 2023. Introduction. The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, ed. Marc van der Poe…
  33. West, M. L. 1965. Tryphon de tropis. The Classical Quarterly 15(2):230–248.
    The Classical Quarterly  
  34. White, H. 1973. Metahistory: The historical imagination in nineteenth-century Europe. Johns Hopkins University.
  35. Zinsmaier, T. 2021. Quintilian as Master of Prose. The Oxford Handbook of Quintilian, ed. Marc van der Poel, …