3 ms·

is that a pars pro toto?

• shoemakersteve 5y ago
  no that's latin
• FabHK 5y ago
  No. It's not "take your head home", with your head (a noun) being the part standing in for the whole, namely you. Rather, "to head" is a verb that means (among other things) "to move in a specific direction". For example, an aircraft could be heading north.
  • hnbad 5y ago
    Isn't "take your head home" pars pro toto given that it means "take yourself home" with the head (pars) standing in for (pro) the person (toto)?
    • FabHK 5y ago
      Yes, "take your head home" would be pars pro toto, but it is not something people usually say (in particularly, that's not what GP (or GGP or whatever) said).
• hnbad 5y ago
  No, "head" is a verb in this case. Related to "heading" (i.e. what direction a vehicle is pointed at while moving), I think, rather than the body part. I can't find the etymology beyond words meaning the body part or "primary"/"main". There's no direct equivalent in German for example despite the shared etymology for the other meanings. I would guess that it is related to the body part in a figurative sense in the same was as "face" (i.e. turn your body in a specific direction) though I have no idea how "put your head there" would come to me "go there". I wonder if this was before or after "heading" became a thing for ships (which generally move in the direction they "face", so the "heading", i.e. how the "nose" is aligned, could go on to become a verb). EDIT: I'm not sure it's pars pro toto because I'm not sure it directly refers to the "head" in the sense of the body part rather than the "heading" which is not directly related to the actual body part when talking about vehicles like ships.