a function word that is used in place of a noun or noun phrase
A type of noun that refers anaphorically to another noun or noun phrase, but which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective. English examples include I, you, him, who, me, my, each other.
The word comes from the Latin pronomen, which was formed by combining "before" and "name." This Latin term was created as a direct translation of an Ancient Greek phrase meaning the same thing.