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Definition of Pronoun - 5 dictionary results

pro⋅noun

  [proh-noun]
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–noun Grammar.
any member of a small class of words found in many languages that are used as replacements or substitutes for nouns and noun phrases, and that have very general reference, as I, you, he, this, who, what. Pronouns are sometimes formally distinguished from nouns, as in English by the existence of special objective forms, as him for he or me for I, and by nonoccurrence with an article or adjective.
Origin:
1520–30; < MF pronom < L prōnōmen (s. prōnōmin-). See pro- 1 , noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pro·noun   (prō'noun')   
n.   Abbr. pron. or pr.
  1. The part of speech that substitutes for nouns or noun phrases and designates persons or things asked for, previously specified, or understood from the context.
  2. Any of the words within this part of speech, such as he or whom.

[Late Middle English pronoun, pronoune, partial translation of Latin prōnōmen (translation of Greek antōnumiā, interchange of names, pronoun) : prō-, pro- + nōmen, name, noun; see noun.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pronoun

Pro"noun\, n. [Pref. pro- + noun: cf. F. pronom, L. pronomen. See Noun.] (Gram.) A word used instead of a noun or name, to avoid the repetition of it. The personal pronouns in English are I, thou or you, he, she, it, we, ye, and they.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Pronoun
Spanish: pronombre,
German: das Pronomen,
Japanese: 代名詞
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pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun. She, herself, it, and this are examples of pronouns. If we substituted pronouns for the nouns in the sentence “Please give the present to Karen,” it would read “Please give it to her.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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pronoun 
1530, from pro- and noun; modeled on M.Fr. pronom, from L. pronomen, from pro- "in place of" + nomen "name, noun." A loan-translation of Gk. antonymia. Adj. pronomial is recorded from 1644.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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