proper noun

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proper noun (plural proper nouns)

1. (grammar) A word or phrase that is a noun denoting a particular person, place, organization, ship, animal, event, or other individual entity.

   Synonyms: proper name, nomen proprium, noun substantive proper, proper substantive, substantive proper, selfname

   Antonyms: common noun, common name, appellative noun, nomen appellativum

In English, a proper noun is normally not preceded by an article or limiting modifier and is normally written with an initial capital letter. However, some proper nouns are preceded by articles (such as the Netherlands) and some are uncapitalized (kd lang), and many common (non-proper) nouns are also capitalized, like European. Some references erroneously conflate whether a noun is common or proper with whether it is capitalized or not, although these are not the same.

• noun (substantive, substantive noun)

• Appendix:English proper nouns
• Appendix:Glossary

• “proper noun”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “proper noun”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “proper noun”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “proper noun” (US) / “proper noun” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “proper noun”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “proper noun”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• proper noun in Britannica Dictionary