Toast

One noun form of "toast" is the common bread that has been heated and made crispier. It makes sense since the verb "toast" means to cook or brown (food, especially bread or cheese) by exposure to a grill, fire, or other source of radiant heat.

But there is also the noun used connected to a drink to the health or in honor of (someone or something) by raising one's glass together with others. These well-wishes, offered to an individual or a group, typically commemorate a significant life event, such as a wedding, graduation, or birthday. There is the drink and also the speech. The speeches are traditional rather than standardized, with different contexts and cultures providing templates that toasters can amend as they see fit. The lone constant is that toasts are usually concluded by a call to drink in honor of that event. 

But why call that drink and speech a toast?

The toasting tradition dates back to at least ancient Greece. The term “toasting” is a metonym: Toast was frequently placed in wine to reduce its acidity and add flavor. Over time, the ingredient became shorthand for the speeches many made with wine in their hands.

Metonym and Synecdoche

A metonym is a figure of speech in which an object or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it, rather than by its own name.

Unlike a metaphor, which relies on similarity (e.g., "life is a rollercoaster"), a metonym relies on association or proximity.

Some Common Examples of Metonymy

• The White House stands for The U.S. Presidential Administration based on the building where the work happens.
• Hollywood = The American film industry because of the geographic location synonymous with movies.
• Silicon Valley = the tech industry because it is the region where many tech giants are based.

Metonymy and Synecdoche are often confused. While a metonym uses a related concept (like "The Crown" for a King), a synecdoche uses a specific part to represent the whole (like "wheels" for a car).