Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
personal noun

personal noun

6.9
A word that refers to a person, often their job or role
  • noun
  • /ˈpɜrsənl naʊn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : sustantivo personal
  • A personal noun can refer to roles like 'teacher' or 'doctor'.

Examples

  • Examples of personal nouns include 'mother' and 'friend'.

  • When forming job titles in English, a personal noun is often used, such as 'manager' or 'consultant'.

  • 'Artist' is a personal noun because it denotes someone who creates art.

  • In the phrase 'English teacher', 'teacher' is the personal noun referring to a person.

  • 'Artist' is a personal noun because it denotes someone who creates art.

  • In the phrase 'English teacher', 'teacher' is the personal noun referring to a person.

  • A personal noun is often used in job titles, like 'doctor' or 'nurse'.

Surface Forms

personal noun singular
personal nouns plural

Morphology

personal + noun

The meaning 'a noun that refers to a person' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'personal' (relating to a person) + 'noun' (a word naming an entity). This adjective+noun combination follows a common and predictable pattern across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will ordinarily infer the intended meaning (though the specialized grammatical sense of "personal" may be slightly technical).

Etymology

Personal noun comes from the idea of naming a person by their job or role. Words like teacher, artist and manager literally name the person who does something, so a 'personal noun' means 'a noun that refers to a person'.