pronoun

B1 Topic:Communication

US /ˈpɹoʊ.naʊn/ UK /ˈpɹəʊ.naʊn/ See IPA manual

Freq #47244

Meanings

1

noun
A word used in place of a noun, such as 'he', 'she', or 'it'.

In the sentence 'She is here', 'she' is a pronoun.
2

noun
The personal pronouns a person prefers others to use for them, often reflecting their gender identity.

My pronouns are she/her — what are yours?

Thesaurus

Word family

Forms pronouns

Derived forms mispronounneopronounpro-dropprodroppronounalpronounlikepronounphobiaxenopronoun

Related forms pronominal

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

indefinite pronoun
a pronoun that refers to an unspecified person or thing

Adjective + noun
possessive pronoun
a pronoun that shows ownership, such as mine or yours

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From pro- + noun, modeled on Middle French pronom, from Latin pronomen, itself a calque of Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ (ăntōnŭmĭ́ā).

pronom Middle French pronomen Latin ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Communication Language & Linguistics

External links

# pronoun

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈpɹoʊ.naʊn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpɹəʊ.naʊn/
**Frequency rank:** 47244

## Meanings
1. A word used in place of a noun, such as 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
2. The personal pronouns a person prefers others to use for them, often reflecting their gender identity.

## Examples
- In the sentence 'She is here', 'she' is a pronoun.
- My pronouns are she/her — what are yours?

## Derived Forms
- mispronoun
- neopronoun
- pro-drop
- prodrop
- pronounal
- pronounlike
- pronounphobia
- xenopronoun

## Related Forms
- pronominal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pronom
- Root: pronomen
- Root: ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ

## Etymology
From pro- + noun, modeled on Middle French pronom, from Latin pronomen, itself a calque of Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ (ăntōnŭmĭ́ā).

## AI Etymology
Pronoun comes from pro- + noun, modeled on Middle French pronom, from Latin pronomen, itself a calque of Ancient Greek ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ (ăntōnŭmĭ́ā). The historical chain includes pronom (Middle French), pronomen (Latin), ᾰ̓ντωνῠμῐ́ᾱ (Ancient Greek). In present-day English it covers a word used in place of a noun, such as 'he', 'she', or 'it' and the personal pronouns a person prefers others to use for them, often reflecting their gender identity. The wider family includes derived forms such as mispronoun, neopronoun, pro-drop, prodrop, pronounal and related forms such as pronominal.

## Topics
- Communication
- Language & Linguistics

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