A word used in place of the person or thing actually meant: e.g. in Rev. 13: 3 the ‘head’ refers to the emperor and in 1 Pet. 5: 13 ‘Babylon’ refers to Rome.
Citation for metonym
Citation styles are based on the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed., and the MLA Style Manual, 2nd Ed..
MLA
"metonym." In A Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online. May 23, 2013. <http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1246>.
Chicago
"metonym." In A Dictionary of the Bible. , edited by W. R. F. Browning. Oxford Biblical Studies Online, http://www.oxfordbiblicalcstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1246 (accessed May 23, 2013).