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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.

See also: thé, thè, thę́, thế, thẻ, thể, the-, and þe

English the definition

Pronunciation

  • (when stressed)
  • (when unstressed and prevocalic)
  • (when unstressed and preconsonantal)
pronunciation notes

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" vs. "ye"


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Originally masculine nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English forms (sē, sēo, þæt, þā), from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só.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

  1. 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.
    • 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)
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
  4. 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.
  5. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]
    That apple pie was the best.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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
Usage notes (with proper nouns)

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:

Names of countries containing specifications like kingdom, republic etc are used with the:

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
Usage notes (with adjectives)

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
terms derived from the (determiner)
Translations
article
used as an alternative to a possessive pronoun before body parts

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)

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
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
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.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 3

Preposition

the

  1. 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.

See also

See also

Anagrams

Crimean Gothic the definition

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *sa.

Article

the

  1. 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

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

  1. 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.
    • 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.”

Declension

Declension of the
common
gender 		Singular
indefinite definite
nominative the theen
genitive thes theens

Eastern Arrernte the definition

Pronoun

the

  1. I (first person singular pronoun)

References

Hadza the definition

Pronunciation

Pronoun

  1. you (thou)

Related terms

Interlingua the definition

Pronunciation

Noun

the (plural thes)

  1. tea

Irish the definition

Pronunciation

Adjective

the

  1. Lenited form of te.

Middle English the definition

Etymology 1

Article

the

  1. Alternative form of þe (“the”)
    • Þe definition
      romanization of 𐌸𐌴

Etymology 2

Pronoun

the

  1. Alternative form of þe (“thee”)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

the

  1. Alternative form of þei (“they”)
    • Þei definition
      romanization of 𐌸𐌴𐌹

Etymology 4

Verb

the

  1. Alternative form of theen
    • Theen definition
      to experience success, wealth, or prosperity. (1 of 3 theen definitions)

Murrinh-Patha the definition

Noun

the

  1. ear

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)

  1. 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)

References

  1. 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

  1. that, that one
    them uuīha uuīsa lēstean: To obey that holy wise.

Declension

Declension of thē
Singular Plural
Masculine Neuter Feminine
nominative the that thiu thia
accusative thana that thia thia
genitive thes thes thera thero
dative themu themu theru them
instrumental thiu -

Descendants

  • Middle Low German: de
    • Low German: de

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *þa, from Proto-Indo-European *tó, *te-.

Particle

the (indeclinable, relative)

  1. that, who, which

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)

  1. to
  2. for
  3. 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

  1. the

Serbo-Croatian the definition

Etymology

Borrowed from English the, which sounds similar to Serbo-Croatian da.

Conjunction

the (no known Cyrillic variant)

  1. (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
    • Internet definition
      The specific internet consisting of a global network of computers that communicate using Internet Protocol (IP) and that use Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) to identify the best paths to route those communications.
    • Da definition
      Symbol for the prefix deca-, indicating multiplication by 10
    • Drkati definition
      to masturbate, wank, jack off, jerk off
    • Fb definition
      abbreviation of Facebook.

South Slavey the definition

Pronunciation

Noun

the

  1. belt

References

  • Keren Rice (1989) A Grammar of Slave, Berlin, West Germany: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 38

Swedish the definition

Noun

the n

  1. Alternative spelling of te (tea)

Anagrams

Vietnamese the definition

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 紗 (SV: sa).

Noun

the

  1. a kind of silk gauze
Derived terms
Derived terms
  • buồng the
  • phòng the
 

Etymology 2

Adjective

the • (𦂛, 𫄋) (phonemic reduplicative the the)

  1. having a strong and fragrant smell

Welsh the definition

Noun

the

  1. 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.