Pars pro toto

Pars pro toto (, ), , is a figure of speech where the name of a "portion" of an object, place, or concept is used or taken to represent its "entirety". It is distinct from a merism, which is a reference to a whole by an enumeration of parts; metonymy, where an object, place, or concept is called by something or some place associated with it; or synecdoche, which can refer both to "pars pro toto" and its inverse: the whole representing 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 a "pars pro toto" name for something that consists of more than literally just two pieces of glass (the frame, nosebridge, temples, etc. as well as the lenses). "Pars pro toto" usage is especially common in political geography, with examples including "Russia" or "Russians", used to refer to the entire former Russian Empire or former Soviet Union or its people; "Holland" for the Netherlands; and, particularly in languages other than English, using the translation of "England" in that language to refer to the United Kingdom. Among English-speakers, "Britain" is a common "pars pro toto" shorthand for the United Kingdom. "Schweiz", Switzerland's name in German, comes from its central canton of Schwyz.
The inverse of a "pars pro toto" is a "totum pro parte", in which the whole is used to describe a part. The term "synecdoche" is used for both.
Geography.
Certain place names are sometimes used as synecdoches to denote an area greater than that warranted by their strict meaning:
Other examples.
Individual body parts are often colloquially used to refer to an entire body; examples include:
The names of affiliates or subdivisions of large corporations are sometimes used to refer to the entire corporation:
Other examples include an individual object being used to refer to a larger object or group of which it is a part: