noun
formal noun; dummy noun; expletive noun
Linguistics term for a noun that has lost its concrete meaning and functions mainly as a grammatical placeholder, such as こと, もの, の, or ところ.
「こと」や「もの」は形式名詞の代表例です。
こと and もの are typical examples of formal nouns.
形式名詞は、具体的な意味を持たずに文法的な役割を果たします。
Formal nouns serve a grammatical role without carrying concrete meaning.