from
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
noun
n 1: a content word that can be used to refer to a person,
place, thing, quality, or action
2: the word class that can serve as the subject or object of a
verb, the object of a preposition, or in apposition
from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Noun \Noun\ (noun), n. [OF. noun, nun, num, non, nom, F. nom,
fr. L. nomen name. See {Name}.] (Gram.)
A word used as the designation or appellation of a creature
or thing, existing in fact or in thought; a substantive.
[1913 Webster]
Note: By some grammarians the term noun is so used as to
include adjectives, as being descriptive; but in
general it is limited to substantives.
[1913 Webster]