the
Language: English
Part of speech: article
Pronunciation: enpr: thə
ipa: /ðə/
enpr: thē
ipa: /ði/ [ðɪj]
ipa: /ðiː/
rhymes: -iː
homophone: thee
other: /ðə/
other: /ði/
other: /ðə/
other: /ðiː/
other: /jiː/
other: /θeː/
other: /ðeː/
other: /jiː/
Forms: form: da
form: d'
form: teh
form: de
form: t'
form: th'
form: ye
form: yᵉ
form: yͤ
form: ẏe
form: ẏᵉ
Etymology: 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pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem.
replaced words, cognates
Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from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”) within Germanic and with Sanskrit स (sá, “the, that”), Ancient Greek ὁ (ho, “the”), Tocharian B se (“this”) among other Indo-European languages.
Senses: examples: text: I’m reading the book Mary reviewed. (Compare I’m reading a book Mary reviewed.)
text: You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayor the street needs cleaning.
text: The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
text: the street that runs all the way through my hometown
text: I sleep in the bedroom!
ref: 2016, VOA Learning English, archived from the original on 30 Sep 2017:
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it has already been mentioned, is to be completely specified in the same sentence, or very shortly thereafter.
examples: text: No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
text: God save the Queen!
text: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 1:8, column 2:
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
Used before a noun designating something considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time.
examples: 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/et cetera.
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar.
examples: A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
(informal) How's the wife? (= "How is your wife?")
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
Used before a body part, a family member, a pet (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun.
examples: text: How's the Sal today?
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
Precedes a familiar nickname or other term of address.
examples: square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
Used in many idiomatic expressions and proverbs to refer to common objects, roles, or situations connected with something definite, in the manner of an analogy
examples: text: That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
text: "Good Heavens, man! Why, he is the authority. If you want pure laboratory experiments those are the books."
ref: 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
text: “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.
ref: 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:
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
When stressed, indicates that it describes something which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention.
examples: text: That was the juiciest apple pie ever.
text: May the better man win.
text: Starting today through September 30, guests can wow their taste buds with the "swiciest" sensation of the season, the Nashville-Style Hot Honey Pizza.
ref: 2024 August 21, Liz Parker Kuhn, “California Pizza Kitchen, Mike's Hot Honey drop 'swicy' new pizza”, in Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery:
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
Used before a noun phrase beginning with superlative or comparative adjective or an ordinal number, indicating that the noun refers to a single item.
examples: text: Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.
ref: 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 536:
text: The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker.
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class.
examples: The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer.
glosses: Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
Used with the plural of a surname to indicate the entire family.
examples: That apple pie was the best.
glosses: Used with an adjective
Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive.
examples: 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.
glosses: Used with an adjective
Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective.
examples: the Irish are...; the Chinese are...; the French are...
glosses: Used with an adjective
Used before a demonym ending in -ish or -ese to refer to people of a given country collectively.
Synonyms: le
Derived terms: word: all the time
word: Jack the Ripper
word: the heck
word: the hell
word: the man
word: the one
word: th'other
urls: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?go=Go&search=incategory%3A%22English+proverbs%22+incategory%3A%22English+lemmas%22+intitle%3A%2F+the+%2F&title=Special%3ASearch&ns0=1
word: Proverbs using the
urls: https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?search=incategory%3A%22English+idioms%22+incategory%3A%22English+lemmas%22+intitle%3A%2F+the+%2F&title=Special:Search&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&ns0=1
word: Idioms using the