Hellenistic Greek © 2008, 2018
What is a Noun?

Greek-Language.com and HellenisticGreek.com

It is often said that a noun is a word that refers to a person, place, or thing. This traditional definition gives a general idea of the kinds of things nouns refer to, but it is not clear enough. It covers too many words and doesn't help us understand what nouns do.

A more consistent definition for Greek nouns can be stated as follows:

Greek nouns are words that meet both of the following criteria:

• Nouns may function as subjects of a verb or objects of either a verb or a preposition; and
• Nouns have non-varying grammatical gender.

This definition will become clearer to you as you see more examples of Greek nouns and learn more about the functions they can serve.