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Antonomasia is a stylistic device in language where a proper name is used in place of a common noun, or vice versa. In other words, it's a way to use words that typically have different meanings for specific creative effects. The term "antonomasia" involves shifting between two key meanings: the logical and the nominal.

The logical meaning of a word helps us categorize objects into groups or classes. On the other hand, the nominal meaning singles out a particular object from a group, focusing on its individuality rather than classification. For instance, the name "Mary" doesn't specify whether it's referring to women, girls, boats, cats, etc. Instead, it singles out a particular individual. However, when combined with a word like "each," as in "each Mary," it becomes more like a common noun, referring to any female. This is an example of the first type of antonomasia.

Another type of antonomasia occurs when a common noun serves as an individualizing name. For instance, in "There are three doctors in an illness like yours," the word "doctor" typically denotes a profession, but here it's used to refer to specific individuals, Dr. Rest, Dr. Diet, and Dr. Fresh Air.

The third type of antonomasia involves "speaking names." These are names with origins from common nouns that still carry their original meanings. For example, names like Mr. Smith or Mr. Brown have lost their connection to occupation or color, but names like Lady Teazle and Mr. Surface from Sheridan's School for Scandal immediately evoke associations with certain qualities due to the words' denotational meanings. The ability of these names to both label and describe is sometimes retained in translations, as seen in examples from Sheridan's plays and F. Cooper's works.

Antonomasia is most commonly formed using nouns, though occasionally it involves attributive combinations or phrases, as in "Dr. Fresh Air" or "Mr. What's-his name." In the second type of antonomasia, common nouns are typically abstract, although there are cases where concrete nouns are used as well.