I. before consonants & especially South before vowels also thə, before vowels thē or thi, in sense 1r often |thē definite article
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English thē, masculine demonstrative pron. & definite article, alteration (influenced by the oblique cases — as thæs, gen., & thǣm, dative — & by thæt, neuter demonstrative pron. & definite article) of sē; akin to Old Norse sā, masculine demonstrative pron. & adjective, Gothic sa, masculine demonstrative pron. & definite article, Greek ho, masculine demonstrative pron. & definite article, Sanskrit sa, masculine demonstrative pron. & adjective — more at that
1.
a. — used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent refers to someone or something previously mentioned or clearly understood from the context or the situation
if anyone offers you a dollar for that picture, take the dollar
put the cat out
this is a good shirt but the sleeves are too long
— sometimes used archaically before the relative pronoun which
a foolish quest, the which to gain and keep he sacrificed all rest — Lord Byron
— found in obsolete usage as recently as the 17th century before the relative pronoun whom
your mistress, from the whom I see there's no disjunction to be made — Shakespeare
b. : used as a function word before an abstract noun — obsolete except with a very few nouns with which it appears in certain set constructions, in some of which it has some particularizing force
a fight to the finish
portrayed to the life
the truth is that I was absent
that's the truth
that's the bunk
to keep the peace
c. — used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent refers to someone or something that is unique or is thought of as unique or exists as only one at a time
the Lord
the Messiah
the devil
the sun
the earth
the universe
the Pope
the Dalai Lama
— often used with some kinds of geographical names, especially of rivers
the Hudson
oceans
the Atlantic
seas
the Adriatic
and groups (as of islands or mountains) that have a plural name but a distinctive identity
the Azores
the Alps
— often used with names of literary or artistic works
the Jungle Book
the Mona Lisa
the Moonlight Sonata
d. — used as a function word before nouns that designate natural phenomena or points of the compass
the night is cold
the heat is intense
the wind came from the east
the clouds look threatening
e. — used as a function word before some especially rather old-fashioned or nontechnical names of diseases
the palsy
the measles
the piles
the flu
the pox
f. — used as a function word before a title or a class name to designate the particular holder of that title or the particular member of that class that is most familiar to the speaker or writer by reason of the nation or culture of which he is a member
the President
the Congress
the Civil War
the west coast
the Renaissance
g.
(1) Britain — used as a function word before the name of a day of the week to indicate reference to the next ensuing day so named in the period immediately under consideration
five days later, on the Sunday — David Masters
(2) — used as a function word before a noun denoting time to indicate reference to that which is present or immediate or is under consideration
news of the hour
best movie of the week
he was at a loss for the moment
in the future
(3) chiefly Scotland — used as a function word immediately before any of several nouns denoting divisions of time, especially day, night, morn, and year, to form phrases with an adverbial function corresponding in meaning to standard English today, tonight, tomorrow, this year
h. — used as a function word before names of some parts of the body or of the clothing as an equivalent of a possessive adjective indicating that the part in question belongs to a person previously mentioned
led her by the hand
grabbed him by the collar
or to the speaker or writer or the person addressed
how's the arm today
the ankle is better today, thanks
— sometimes used in a similar way before nouns denoting a family, a member of a family, an ailment from which the speaker or writer or the person addressed is known to have been suffering, or some other aspect of an individual person's situation in life
he's going on a trip and taking the family along
I suppose you'll have to consult the wife
how's the cough
the headache is better, thanks
you've been lucky enough to rate a four-week vacation from the job — Richard Joseph
i.
(1) — used as a function word before a title or a personal name to designate a person of eminence or widespread reputation, especially as a man of high rank, a figure of great historical importance, a singer, an actress, or a courtesan
Robert the Bruce
the Siddons
the Duse
the Pompadour
— sometimes used somewhat disparagingly in reference to a person of only very local or restricted prominence
(2) — used as a function word before the surname of an Irish or Scottish clan to indicate reference to the chief of the clan
the Mackintosh
j. — used as a function word before the name of an art, artistic movement, craft, branch of learning, profession, sport, or other branch of human endeavor or proficiency; used in standard English only in a very limited number of such combinations
the opera
the cinema
the rococo
the law
the hunt
k.
(1) : each , every — used after prepositions
eighty crackers to the package
(2) — used as a function word in prepositional phrases especially with by to indicate that the noun in the phrase serves as a basis for computation
sold by the dozen
rented by the month
dying by the hundreds
l. — used as a function word before the proper name of a ship or a well-known building (as a theater or movie house well known at least in the city where it is located)
the Mayflower
the Bijou
m. — used as a function word before the name of a language; obsolete except in contexts that indicate translation from an original language
translated from the German
n. — used as a function word before a gerundial verbal noun to indicate reference to an immediate instance
will cause the meat to shrivel in the cooking — American Guide Series: North Carolina
o. — used as a function word before a noun derived without affixation from a verb expressing an action or state that has duration in time and after the preposition upon or usually on to indicate a single continuous involvement in such an action or state
on the move
on the prowl
or the temporal point of termination of such involvement
caught the ball on the fly
p.
(1) — used as a function word before a date consisting only of a numeral denoting a year; obsolete except before 1715 or its contraction ' 15 in reference to the Jacobite uprising of that year or to the year itself as marked by that uprising and before 1745 or its contraction ' 45 in reference to the Jacobite uprising of that year or to the year itself as marked by that uprising
he was not out in the 1715 — W.M.Parker
the commencement of the rising of the '15 — Leslie Smith
(2) — used as a function word before the plural form of a numeral that is a multiple of ten to denote a particular decade of a century or of a person's life
American life in the twenties
a man somewhere in the sixties
q. — used as a function word before the name of a commodity or any familiar appurtenance of daily life to indicate reference to the individual thing, part, or supply thought of as at hand
too fond of the booze
looking out of the window
talked to him on the telephone
r. — used as a function word to designate one of a class as the best, most typical, or most worth singling out
this is the life
an author who even in his own lifetime was widely regarded as the novelist
— sometimes used before a personal name to denote the most prominent bearer of that name
became acquainted with a mathematician who was named Einstein but was not the Einstein
— sometimes used with the plural form of a family name to denote the most prominent branch of the family
on his father's side he was, to be sure, a Guzmán but not one of the Guzmáns — D.C.Peattie
— often marked in speech by full stress or in writing by special typography (as italics)
s. : enough
I would have liked to write a letter instead of a postcard, but I didn't have the time
t.
(1) — used as a function word before a proper name denoting a particular character in a dramatic work or before a common noun denoting a particular role in a dramatic work to refer to the one playing that character or filling that role
in this performance a singer who has not appeared here before was the Figaro
threw rotten eggs at the villain
(2) — used as a function word before a noun denoting a particular role in a real-life situation to refer to the one filling that role
I'm no fool; you're the fool
in 1914, by contrast with 1898, England and France were the belligerents and America was the neutral
2.
a.
(1) — used as a function word with a noun modified by an adjective or by an attributive noun to limit the application of the modified noun to that specified by the adjective or by the attributive noun
the right answer
the privileged classes
the English language
the greatest difficulty
the third time
the Boston road
the seafood industry
— sometimes used with the adjective following the article-noun combination and itself either unmodified or more often modified
the church militant
the man most suitable for the job
— often used in conventional epithets
the Venerable Bede
the White House
including some in which the article and the adjective both follow the noun
Peter the Great
Elizabeth the Second
— used also in constructions containing an additional modifier (as a subordinate clause, prepositional phrase, or infinitive phrase) as well as an adjective or an attributive noun
the usual excuses that everybody gives
the seafood industry of this country
the wrong way to do it
(2) — used as a function word before an absolute adjective that is equivalent in meaning to a noun modified by an adjective, including virtually all absolute occurrences of superlative adjectives or ordinal numbers
use the white buttons and not the black
he and she are both very intelligent, but her responses are the quicker
nothing but the best
he is to arrive on the sixth
b. — used as a function word before a noun to limit its application to that specified by a noun especially a proper name in apposition
the poet Wordsworth
— often used before a title consisting of a generic term followed by a limiting appositive
the Lord Chief Justice
— sometimes used with the limiting term first especially in conventional epithets
William the Conqueror
c. — used as a function word before a noun to limit its application to that specified by a succeeding element in the sentence, especially a subordinate clause, prepositional phrase, or infinitive phrase
the flowers that bloom
the John Maclean who was interred at Itchingfield — W.M.Parker
the days of our youth
the man in the iron mask
the London of Elizabeth I
the right to vote
— often used before a title consisting of a generic term followed by a limiting prepositional phrase
the Duke of York
3.
a.
(1) — used as a function word before a singular noun denoting a human being, an animal, a plant, or a precious stone to indicate that the noun is to be understood generically and not individually
helpful hints for the beginner
courtesy distinguishes the gentleman
the dog was domesticated in prehistoric times
hunt the wild ox
cultivation of the potato
the diamond is a form of carbon
— used with man or woman only in explicit contrast with another noun denoting a human being
the child is father of the man — William Wordsworth
or when man or woman is the object of the verb act or play — used also with a noun other than man or woman occurring as object of the verb act or play
play the knave
play the martyr
act the fool
(2) — used as a function word before a singular substantivized adjective denoting a human being to indicate generic rather than individual application
let the wicked forsake his way — Isa 55:7 (Revised Standard Version)
b. — used as a function word before a noun denoting the body, the mind, the soul, or any part, attribute, or function of any of them, to indicate generic rather than individual application
the mind is clearest when the body is in good health
good for the soul
the hand is quicker than the eye
pleasing to the appetite
a product of the imagination
c. — used as a function word before a noun denoting an object (as an implement, weapon, or musical instrument) to indicate generic rather than individual application
invention of the wheel
users of the bow and arrow
playing the piano
the writing is close, analytic, sharply focused on the significant detail — William Barrett
d. archaic — used as a function word before the name of a day of the week to indicate reference to that day as one that recurs week after week
on the Sunday he goes perhaps to church — T.B.Macaulay
e. — used as a function word before a singular substantivized adjective to indicate an abstract idea
an essay on the sublime
to recognize and enjoy the beautiful
4.
a. — used as a function word before a singular noun denoting a group to indicate reference to the group as a whole
the elite
the aristocracy
the rabble
b. — used as a function word before a substantivized adjective to indicate inclusive reference to a group so characterized
blessed are the merciful — Mt. 5:7 (Authorized Version)
the land of the free — F.S.Key
c. — used as a function word before a plural noun denoting a group to indicate reference to the group as a whole
the Greeks
the newspapers
II. before consonants & especially South before vowels also thə, before vowels thē or thi adverb
Etymology: Middle English the, thi, from Old English thē, thȳ by that, because of that, instrumental of thæt, neuter demonstrative pron. — more at that
1. : than before : than otherwise — used before a comparative
I am none the wiser for attending that lecture
instead of quieting down, they talked all the louder
pulled his cot alongside the window, the better to lean his chin on the sill — Ethel Anderson
2.
a. : by how much : to what extent — used before a comparative as one of the members, usually the first member, of the correlative pair the … the …
the sooner the better
the harder you work, the sooner you will finish
b. : by that much : to that extent — used before a comparative as one of the members, usually the second member, of the correlative pair the … the …
the sooner the better
3. : so as to exceed all others — used before a superlative
of all my books I like this the best — Charles Dickens
III. preposition
Etymology: the (I)
: in, to, or for each : for every
ten dollars the bottle