the

English Online Dictionary. What means the‎? What does the mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (when stressed)
  • enPR: thē, IPA^(key): /ˈðiː/
  • Rhymes: -iː
    • (variant, preconsonantal) enPR: thŭ, IPA^(key): /ˈðʌ/
• (when unstressed and prevocalic)
  • enPR: thē, IPA^(key): /ði/, /ðɪ/
• (when unstressed and preconsonantal)
  • enPR: thə, IPA^(key): /ðə/ (but see notes below)

Etymology 1

From Middle English þe, from Old English þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem.

Article

the

1. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
   1. The definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that the noun phrase it immediately precedes is definitely identifiable
      1. because it has already been mentioned, is to be completely specified in the same sentence, or very shortly thereafter. [from 10th c.]

         I’m reading the book Mary reviewed. (Compare I’m reading a book Mary reviewed.)

         You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayor the street needs cleaning.

         The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.

         The street that runs all the way through my hometown.
      2. because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge
         1. Used before a noun designating something 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!
         2. 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.

            Take me to the airport/station/hospital/office/park/match/meeting.

         3. Used before a body part, a family member, a pet (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.”)

            How's the wife? (= "How is your wife?")

         4. (colloquial) Precedes a familiar nickname or other term of address.

         5. Used in many idiomatic expressions and proverbs to refer to common objects, roles, or situations connected with something definite, as by analogy

            square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater

   2. When stressed, indicates that it describes something which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. [from 18th c.]

      That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
   3. Used before a noun phrase beginning with superlative or comparative adjective or an ordinal number, indicating that the noun refers to a single item.

      That was the juiciest apple pie ever.

      May the better man win.

   4. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. [from 9th c.]

      The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker.

   5. Used with the plural of a surname to indicate the entire family.

      The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer.

2. Used with an adjective
   1. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]

      That apple pie was the best.

   2. 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.

      One doesn't choose the color of one's chess pieces, the white are assigned to the player who moves first.

   3. Used before a demonym to refer to people of a given country collectively.

      the Chinese

      the Irish

Usage notes

Alternative forms

• da (d'), teh (informal or dialectal)
• de (eye dialect, AAVE)
• t' (Northern England)
• th' (poetic, usually before a vowel sound)
• ye (archaic), y^e (archaic, abbreviation), yͤ (archaic, abbreviation)
• ẏe (obsolete), ẏ^e (obsolete, abbreviation)

Synonyms

• le

Derived terms

Translations

References

Etymology 2

From Middle English the, thy, thi, from Old English þē̆, probably a neuter instrumental form ("by that, thereby")—alongside the more common þȳ and þon—of the demonstrative pronoun sē ("that"). Compare Dutch des te ("the, the more"), German desto ("the, all the more"), Norwegian fordi and Norwegian av di ("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.

3. (with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.

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

• nevertheless
• nonetheless

Translations

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Preposition

the

1. For each; per.
   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:the.

Etymology 4

Pronoun

the

1. Obsolete form of thee.

Etymology 5

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

the (uncountable)

1. A topology name.

See also

References

• “the”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• eth-, Eth., TEH, teh, ETH, Eth, het, EHT, HET, eth, Teh, -eth

Crimean Gothic

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *sa.

Article

the

1. the

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

Noun

the c

1. Alternative spelling of te (“tea”)

Declension

Eastern Arrernte

Pronoun

the

1. I (first person singular pronoun)

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Hadza

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰe/

Pronoun

the m (fem. theko)

1. you (thou)

Related terms

• ethebee

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /te/

Noun

the (plural thes)

1. tea

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [hɛ]

Adjective

the

1. Lenited form of te.

Italian

Noun

the

1. Misspelling of tè.

Middle English

Etymology 1

Article

the

1. Alternative form of þe (“the”)
   • 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 1-2.

Etymology 2

Pronoun

the

1. Alternative form of þe (“thee”)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

the

1. Alternative form of þei (“they”)

Etymology 4

Verb

the

1. Alternative form of theen

Murrinh-Patha

Noun

the

1. ear

See also

• ye (incorporated noun)

References

• Mark Abley (2003) Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages (in Murrinh-Patha)

Old High German

Alternative forms

• de

Particle

the (indeclinable, relative)

1. that, who, which

References

1. Braune, Wilhelm. Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, zusammengestellt und mit Glossar versehen

Old Saxon

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

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

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʰe/

Postposition

the (تھےۡ)

1. to
2. for
3. at

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “the”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[3], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Scots

Alternative forms

• tha (common in Ulster Scots literature)

Etymology

From Old English se.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ðə]
• (Shetland) IPA^(key): [də] (often written da)
• (chiefly North Northern Scots, northern East Central Scots) IPA^(key): [i], [ə] (often written ee or 'e)
• (some Glasgow speakers) IPA^(key): [rə] (often written ra)

Determiner

the

1. the (definite article)

Usage notes

• The definite article is used a lot more frequently idiomatically in Scots than in English.

Further reading

• “the”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Serbo-Croatian

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

South Slavey

Etymology

Cognates include Dogrib whe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [θɛ̀(ʔ)]
• Hyphenation: the

Noun

the (stem -dhe-)

1. belt

Inflection

References

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

Swedish

Noun

the n

1. Alternative spelling of te (tea)

Declension

Anagrams

• -het, het

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tʰɛ˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tʰɛ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [tʰɛ˧˧]

Etymology 1

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

Noun

the

1. a kind of silk gauze, often used to make ao dai

See also

Etymology 2

Adjective

the • (𦂛, 𫄋)

1. having a strong and fragrant smell or flavor, usually overlaps with what described as "minty" or "citrusy" in English

See also

Welsh

Noun

the

1. Aspirate mutation of te.

Mutation

Yola

Article

the

1. Alternative form of a (“the”)

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 88