Definition of "pronoun" [pro•noun]

• The part of speech that substitutes for nouns or noun phrases and designates persons or things asked for, previously specified, or understood from the context. (noun)
• Any of the words within this part of speech, such as he or whom. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Finally, by means of the pupil's former knowledge of the subjective and pronoun functions, the teacher assures himself that the pupil appreciates clearly the _pronoun_ function of the word _who_."
• "When the word _ever_ or _soever_ is annexed to a relative pronoun, the combination is called a _compound pronoun_; as, _whoever_ or _whosoever, whichever_ or _whichsoever, whatever_ or _whatsoever_."
• "A pronoun that connects an _adjective clause_ with a substantive is called a _relative pronoun_, and the substantive for which the relative pronoun stands is called its _antecedent_."