The heterogeneity of the semnantic aspects of a noun such as livre « book » is  approached in this paper through a systematic comparison with the near synonym volume  « volume ». The latter implies a partitive interpretation that warrants its reference to content  and not only tothe material support. This is in line both with our endeavours on part / whole relations as a structuring factor of lexical meaning, and of the meronymic integration principle. A metonymic relation integrates the different aspects of meaning of nouns such as livre and, that cannot be separated as autonomous entities. The view demonstrated in several earlier publications is argued to provide a better account of new arguments by Croft and Cruse, and the sequence Two books in one supposes an access to both information and material shape.