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Contents
- 1 English
- 2 Crimean Gothic
- 3 Danish
- 4 Eastern Arrernte
- 5 Hadza
- 6 Interlingua
- 7 Irish
- 8 Middle English
- 9 Murrinh-Patha
- 10 Old High German
- 11 Old Saxon
- 12 Phalura
- 13 Scots
- 14 Serbo-Croatian
- 15 South Slavey
- 16 Swedish
- 17 Vietnamese
- 18 Welsh
the definition
Overview
This page has 34 definitions of the with English translations in 10 languages. The is a article, an adverb, preposition, pronoun, verb, noun, particle, determiner, an adjective and conjunction. Examples of how to use the in a sentence are shown. Also define these 41 related words and terms: definite, article, presuppose, mention, specify, assume, restrictive, relative clause, unique, superlative, ordinal number, generically, possessive pronoun, comparative, more, for it, none, none the, per, te, I, tea, þe, þei, theen, ear, that, who, which, that one, the, Internet, slang, da, drkati, fb, belt, silk, gauze, strong, and fragrant.
English the definition
Pronunciation
- (when stressed)
- (when unstressed and prevocalic)
- (when unstressed and preconsonantal)
The word the is commonly pronounced /ðiː/ whenever it is pronounced as a distinct word, e.g.:
- When it is used for emphasis (This is the hospital for open-heart surgery).
- When the speaker pauses between the and the next word (the … sovereignty).
- In many but not all dialects, when the next word begins with a vowel sound (the onion) (compare with a vs. an).
The word is generally pronounced indistinctly as /ðə/ or merely /ð/ in other situations, such as when attached to a word beginning with a consonant sound.
- The typographical pronunciation /jiː/ ("Ye Old...") is a deliberately archaic retronym from ẏe, which is a variant spelling of þe, from Old English þē pronounced thē, /ðeː/ (using ẏ in place of the thorn (þ). It is not actually a separate pronunciation in Middle English.
- The actual morpheme /jiː/ in Middle English represents ȝe-, a variant spelling of the prefix y- attached to verbs and used to denote a verbal past participle.
Etymology 1
From Middle English the, from Old English þē (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē.
Originally masculine nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English forms (sē, sēo, þæt, þā), from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian die (“the”), West Frisian de (“the”), Dutch de (“the”), German Low German de (“the”), German der (“the”), Danish de (“the”), Swedish de (“the”), Icelandic sá (“that”).
Article
the
- Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. [from 10th c.]
- I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
- The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
- The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- I sleep in the bedroom!
Article definition
A piece of nonfictional writing such as a story, report, opinion piece, or entry in a newspaper, magazine, journal, dictionary, encyclopedia, etc. (1 of 11 article definitions)
Presuppose definition
To assume some truth without proof, usually for the purpose of reaching a conclusion based on that truth.
Mention definition
A speaking or notice of anything, usually in a brief or cursory manner. Used especially in the phrase make mention of. (1 of 2 mention definitions)
Specify definition
To state explicitly, or in detail, or as a condition. (1 of 4 specify definitions)
Assume definition
To authenticate by means of belief; to surmise; to suppose to be true, especially without proof (1 of 5 assume definitions)
- Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
- The street that runs through my hometown.
Restrictive definition
Confining, limiting, containing within defined bounds. (1 of 2 restrictive definitions)
- Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. [from 10th c.]
- No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
- God save the Queen!
Unique definition
Being the only one of its kind; unequaled, unparalleled or unmatched. (1 of 4 unique definitions)
- Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item.
- That was the best apple pie ever.
Ordinal Number definition
A word that expresses the relative position of an item in a sequence. (1 of 3 ordinal number definitions)
- Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]
- That apple pie was the best.
- Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. [from 9th c.]
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 536:
- Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 536:
- Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. [from 9th c.]
- Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.
- Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. [from 12th c.]
- No one in the whole country had seen it before.
- I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.
- Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. [from 12th c.]
- A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
Possessive Pronoun definition
A pronoun which expresses possession.
- When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. [from 18th c.]
- That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
- 1926, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Land of Mist[1]:
- "Good Heavens, man! Why, he is the authority. If you want pure laboratory experiments those are the books."
- 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club[2]:
- “New Kid On The Block” doubles as a terrific showcase for the Sea Captain who, in the grand tradition of Simpsons supporting characters, quickly goes from being a stereotype to an archetype, from being a crusty sea-captain character to the crusty sea-captain character.
Usage notes
The word the precedes proper nouns in a number of cases, although most proper nouns use no article. There are always exceptions. See also Appendix:English proper nouns for more information.
- Countries
As a general rule, country names are not preceded by the. There are a few exceptions, most of which are pluralised:
- The Netherlands
- The Bahamas
- The Solomon Islands
- The Maldives
- The Seychelles
- The Philippines
- The Yemen (can also be used without an article)
- The Sudan (can also be used without an article)
- The Ukraine (article dropped since 1991)
- The Lebanon (usually used without the article)
Names of countries containing specifications like kingdom, republic etc are used with the:
- The United States of America
- The United Kingdom
- The United Arab Emirates
- The Czech Republic
- The Swiss Confederation
- The Kingdom of Denmark
- The Republic of Austria
- The Sultanate of Oman
- The European Union
- Place names
Some place names use a definite article:
- All oceans (The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean)
- All seas (The Red Sea, The Bering Sea, The Caribbean Sea), and straits (The Strait of Magellan, the Bering Strait, The Bosphorus)
- All rivers (The Amazon, The Nile, The Mississippi, The Seine, The Yangtze), canals (The Panama Canal, The Suez Canal) and deltas (The Nile Delta, The Orinoco Delta, The Colorado River Delta)
- All art galleries (The Tate, The Louvre, The Smithsonian American Art Museum), all museums with the word museum in the name (The Museum of Natural History, The British Museum)
- Most English-language newspapers (The New York Times, The Guardian, The Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal)
- All North American railroads, even when not referred to by their full names or only by nicknames (The Pennsylvania Railroad, The Reading (Reading Railroad), The Frisco (St. Louis–San Francisco Railway))
- Bands
Musical bands with a plural name are generally used with the:
- Universities
University names beginning with the word "University", and some other university names, are used with the:
- The University of North Carolina
- The Ohio State University
When used before an adjective which is not followed by a noun, it may refer to a group of people for which the adjective is appropriate:
- the Scottish = Scots
- the rich = rich people (considered as a group)
Alternative forms
- ẏe (obsolete), ẏe (archaic): variant spelling of the.
- ye (archaic)
- de (eye dialect, AAVE)
- da (d'), teh (informal or dialectal)
- t' (Northern England)
- th'
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
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Etymology 2
From Middle English the, thy, thi, from Old English þȳ (“by that, after that, whereby”), originally the instrumental case of the demonstratives sē (masculine) and þæt (neuter). Cognate with Dutch des te ("the, the more"), German desto ("the, all the more"), Norwegian fordi ("because"), Icelandic því (“the; because”), Faroese tí, Swedish ty.
Adverb
the (not comparable)
- With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives.
- The hotter(,) the better. (comma usually omitted in such very short expressions)
- The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.
- The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children.
- It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.
- With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none. See none the.
- It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.
- It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it.
- I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.
For It definition
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see for, it. (1 of 3 for it definitions)
None The definition
Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. (1 of 10 none the definitions)
Usage notes
This is called the "comparative correlative", but it is also known as the "correlative construction", the "conditional comparative", or the "the...the construction".
Derived terms
Translations
|
jo + comp., jo + comp., dess + comp., dess + comp.
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Dictionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Etymology 3
Preposition
the
- For each; per.
- valued at half a pound the bushel; paying seven dollars the year interest
- 1837, James Edward Alexander, Narrative of a Voyage of Observation Among the Colonies of Western Africa, in the Flag-ship Thalia; and of a Campaign in Kaffir-land, on the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, in 1835, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, pages 251–2:
- Next morning I was up at an early hour, to see the market held near the water gate. The beef was excellent: but at the high prices of ten-pence and one shilling the pound; mutton at the same price; fowls a dollar the couple, and showing “more feathers than flesh.”
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:the.
Per definition
For each. (1 of 4 per definitions)
See also
Anagrams
Crimean Gothic the definition
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *sa.
Article
the
- the
- 1562, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq:
- omnibus vero dictionibus praeponebat articulum tho aut the
- [he/she] placed the article tho or the before every word
- 1562, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq:
Usage notes
While it is likely that Crimean Gothic retained grammatical gender, de Busbecq's letter does not mention which articles are used with which words, making it impossible to reconstruct their gender.
Danish the definition
Noun
the c
- Alternative spelling of te (“tea”)
- 2016, Thorkild Hansen, Genklang: Rejser og portrætter 1959-89, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN
- Vi vågnede ved 6tiden og lavede dejlig the.
- We got up at about 6 AM and made lovely tea.
- Vi vågnede ved 6tiden og lavede dejlig the.
- 2015, Lotte Heise, Tina Bryld, Selvfølgelig skal hun bo hos mig: om at bo med sin handicappede mor, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN
- Hun smiler over hele femøren, da duften af te breder sig: ”Uha, dejlig the.”
- She smiles broadly, as the scent of tea spreads: ”Oh, lovely tea.”
- Hun smiler over hele femøren, da duften af te breder sig: ”Uha, dejlig the.”
- 2016, Thorkild Hansen, Genklang: Rejser og portrætter 1959-89, Gyldendal A/S →ISBN
Declension
common gender |
Singular | |
---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | the | theen |
genitive | thes | theens |
Eastern Arrernte the definition
Pronoun
the
- I (first person singular pronoun)
References
- 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
Hadza the definition
Pronunciation
Pronoun
- the m (fem. theko)
- you (thou)
Related terms
Interlingua the definition
Pronunciation
Noun
the (plural thes)
- tea
Tea definition
The tea plant (Camellia sinensis); a variety of this plant. (1 of 11 tea definitions)
Irish the definition
Pronunciation
Adjective
the
- Lenited form of te.
Middle English the definition
Etymology 1
Article
the
- Alternative form of þe (“the”)
- 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 1-2.
- Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
- The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
Þe definition
romanization of 𐌸𐌴
- 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 1-2.
Etymology 2
Pronoun
the
- Alternative form of þe (“thee”)
Etymology 3
Pronoun
the
- Alternative form of þei (“they”)
Þei definition
romanization of 𐌸𐌴𐌹
Etymology 4
Verb
the
- Alternative form of theen
Theen definition
to experience success, wealth, or prosperity. (1 of 3 theen definitions)
Murrinh-Patha the definition
Noun
the
- ear
Ear definition
The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. (1 of 8 ear definitions)
See also
- ye (incorporated noun)
References
- 2003, Mark Abley, Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages.
Old High German the definition
Alternative forms
Particle
the (indeclinable, relative)
- that, who, which
That definition
Introducing a clause which is the subject or object of a verb (such as one involving reported speech), or which is a complement to a previous statement. (1 of 8 that definitions)
Who definition
What person or people; which person or people; asks for the identity of someone. (used in a direct or indirect question) (1 of 4 who definitions)
Which definition
What, of those mentioned or implied. (1 of 2 which definitions)
References
- Braune, Wilhelm. Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, zusammengestellt und mit Glossar versehen
Old Saxon the definition
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *sa. The original s- was replaced by th- by analogy with the other forms, but still preserved in the variant sē.
Determiner
thē
Declension
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *þa, from Proto-Indo-European *tó, *te-.
Particle
the (indeclinable, relative)
Phalura the definition
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Postposition
the (تھےۡ)
- to
- for
- at
References
- Liljegren, Henrik; Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)[3], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
Scots the definition
Etymology
From Old English se
Determiner
the
- the
The definition
Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. (1 of 10 the definitions)
Serbo-Croatian the definition
Etymology
Borrowed from English the, which sounds similar to Serbo-Croatian da.
Conjunction
the (no known Cyrillic variant)
- (Internet slang) Alternative spelling of da
- neki kreten the ih drka emotivno
- some jerk to fuck with them emotionally
- the ovo okačim na fb wall, garant ne bih opstala od borKINJa za ženska prava
- if I posted this on my FB wall, I surely wouldn't survive the women rights fighters
Slang definition
Language outside of conventional usage and in the informal register. (1 of 5 slang definitions)
Drkati definition
to masturbate, wank, jack off, jerk off
Fb definition
abbreviation of Facebook.
- neki kreten the ih drka emotivno
South Slavey the definition
Pronunciation
Noun
the
References
- Keren Rice (1989) A Grammar of Slave, Berlin, West Germany: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 38
Swedish the definition
Noun
the n
Anagrams
Vietnamese the definition
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 紗 (SV: sa).
Noun
the
Derived terms
- buồng the
- phòng the
Etymology 2
Adjective
the • (𦂛, 𫄋) (phonemic reduplicative the the)
Welsh the definition
Noun
the
- Aspirate mutation of te.
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
te | de | nhe | the |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |