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noun substantive

noun substantive noun: a word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.

Noun

noun substantive (plural nouns substantive)

  1. (obsolete) A word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
    • Q. What is a Noun? A. The Name of a Thing. Q. How many Sorts of Nouns are there? [...] A. A Noun Substantive, and a Noun Adjective.1753, Thomas Martin, An Explanation of the Accidence and Grammar To the End of the Syntax in which The Grounds of each Rule in the Syntax are laid down in the plainest Manner. Compiled By way of...
    • A Noun is a word which serves to name and distinguish some thing; [...]. There are two sorts of nouns; one is called a noun substantive, and the other a noun adjective.1786, Signor Veneroni, The Complete Italian Master; Containing The best and easiest Rules for attaining that Language, London, page 6

Synonyms of noun substantive

Antonyms

Forms of noun substantive

pluralnouns substantive

Origin of noun substantive

From Middle English noun substantyf, a calque of Latin nōmen substantīvum.

Words formed from noun substantive

  • substantive proper

Questions about noun substantive

What does noun substantive mean?
Noun substantive means a word that can be used to refer to a person, animal, place, thing, phenomenon, substance, quality, or idea; one of the basic parts of speech in many languages, including English.
What part of speech is noun substantive?
Noun substantive is a noun.
What is the plural of noun substantive?
The plural of noun substantive is nouns substantive.

Words near noun substantive in the dictionary

  1. noun of assemblage
  2. noun of multitude
  3. noun of place
  4. noun phrase
  5. noun phrases
  6. noun substantive
  7. noun substantive proper
  8. noun-self pronoun
  9. noun-self pronouns
  10. nounal
  11. nounally

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: noun substantive (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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