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From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:Appendix:Variations of "the"
Languages (20)
English
Crimean Gothic • Danish • Eastern Arrernte • Hadza • Interlingua • Irish • Italian • Middle English • Murrinh-Patha • Old High German • Old Saxon • Phalura • Scots • Serbo-Croatian • South Slavey • Swedish • Vietnamese • Welsh • Yola
Page categories

English

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EnglishWikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation

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pronunciation notes

The wordthe is commonly pronounced/ðiː/ whenever it is pronounced as a distinct word, e.g.:

  • When it is used for emphasis (This is wherethe hospital for open-heart surgery is).
  • When the speaker pauses betweenthe and the next word (the … sovereignty).
  • In many but not all dialects, when the next word begins with a vowel sound (the onion) (compare witha 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"

Thetypographical pronunciation/jiː/ ("Ye Old...") is a deliberately archaicretronym fromye, which is a variant spelling ofþe, from Old Englishþē pronouncedthē,/θeː/,/ðeː/ (usingy in place of thethorn (þ). It is not actually a separate pronunciation in Middle English. The actualmorpheme/jiː/ in Middle English representsȝe-, a variant spelling of the prefixy- attached toverbs and used to denote a verbalpast participle.

Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishþe, fromOld Englishþē m(“the, that”,demonstrative pronoun), a late variant ofsē, thes- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by theþ- from the oblique stem.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Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m,sēo f,þæt n,þā pl);sē is fromProto-West Germanic*siz, fromProto-Germanic*sa, ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*só.

Cognate withSaterland Frisiandie(“the”),West Frisiande(“the”),Dutchde(“the”),German Low Germande(“the”),Germander(“the”),Danishde(“the”),Swedishde(“the”),Icelandicsá(“that”) within Germanic and withSanskritस(sá,“the, that”),Ancient Greekὁ(ho,“the”),Tocharian Bse(“this”) among other Indo-European languages.[1]

Article

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the

  1. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
    1. Thedefinite grammaticalarticle that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
      1. ...because it has already beenmentioned, is to be completelyspecified in the same sentence, or very shortly thereafter.[from 10th c.]
        I’m readingthe book Mary reviewed. (CompareI’m readinga book Mary reviewed.)
        You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayorthe street needs cleaning.
        The men and women watchedthe man givethe birdseed tothe bird.
        the street that runs all the way through my hometown
        • 2016,VOA Learning English‎[1], archived fromthe original on30 September 2017:
          I sleep inthe bedroom!
      2. ...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
        1. Used before a noun designating something considered to beunique, or of which there is only one at a time.[from 10th c.]
          No one knows how many galaxies there are inthe universe.
          God savethe 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 inthe whole country had seen it before.
          I don't think I'll get to it untilthe morning.
          Take me tothe 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 apossessive pronoun.[from 12th c.]
          A stone hit him onthe head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
          (informal)How'sthe wife? (= "How is your wife?")
        4. (colloquial)Precedes a familiar nickname or other term of address.
          How'sthe Sal today?
          "How are you, Sal?"
        5. 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
          squarethe circle;feelthe pinch;beat aroundthe bush;throwthe baby out withthe bathwater
    2. When stressed, indicates that it describes something which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention.[from 18th c.]
      That isthehospital to go to for heart surgery.
      • 1925 July –1926 May,A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, inThe Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia:Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
        "Good Heavens, man! Why, he isthe 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)”, inThe 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 tothe crusty sea-captain character.
    3. Used before a noun phrase beginning withsuperlative or comparative adjective or anordinal number, indicating that the noun refers to a single item.
      That wasthe juiciest apple pie ever.
      Maythe better man win.
    4. Introducing a singular term to be takengenerically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class.[from 9th c.]
      The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments asthe hairy woodpecker.
    5. Used with the plural of a surname to indicate the entire family.
      The Bushes have held political office for several decades andthe Kennedys longer.
  2. Used with an adjective
    1. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into asubstantive.[from 9th c.]
      That apple pie wasthe best.
    2. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective.[from 9th c.]
      Feedthe hungry, clothethe naked, comfortthe afflicted, and afflictthe 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 ademonym ending in-ish,-ese or-ch (when pronounced/tʃ/) to refer to people of a givencountry collectively.
      theIrish are...;theChinese are...;theFrench are...
Usage notes
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Usage notes (with proper nouns)

The wordthe precedesproper nouns in a number of cases, although most proper nouns use no article. There are always exceptions. See alsoAppendix:English proper nouns for more information.

Countries

As a general rule, country names are not preceded bythe. There are a few exceptions, most of which arepluralised:

Names of countries containing specifications likekingdom,republic etc are used withthe:

Place names

Some place names use a definite article:

  • Alloceans (the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean)
  • Allseas (the Red Sea, the Bering Sea, the Caribbean Sea), andstraits (the Strait of Magellan, the Bering Strait, the Bosphorus)
  • Allrivers (the Amazon, the Nile, the Mississippi, the Seine, the Yangtze),canals (the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal) anddeltas (the Nile Delta, the Orinoco Delta, the Colorado River Delta)
  • Allart galleries (the Tate, the Louvre, The Smithsonian American Art Museum), allmuseums with the wordmuseum in the name (the Museum of Natural History, the British Museum)
  • All North Americanrailroads, 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))
  • Some towns (the Bronx, The Hague, The Valley, The Farrington, The Quarter, The Plains, The Dalles, The Villages, The Woodlands, The Pas, the Vatican, The Hyde, the West End, the East End, or the City of ...)
Bands

Musical bands with a plural name are generally used withthe:

Newspapers

Most English-languagenewspapers take "the" before the name. Style guides differ on whether "the" is capitalised.

  • The New York Times,The Guardian,The Chronicle,The Wall Street Journal
Organisations

Usage of "the" before names of organisations varies from organisation to organisation. Names containing a noun that denotes the type of organisation generally take the definite article.

If the full organisation name uses "the", the abbreviation often does as well:

  • the WHO, the DOL, the CWA, the BBC, the UN

For universities, "the" is used in names starting with the word "university", and some others:

  • the University of North Carolina, the Ohio State University –but Harvard University
  • compare the University of Oxfordwith Oxford University
Alternative forms
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  • da (d'),teh(informal or dialectal)
  • de(eye dialect, AAVE)
  • t'(Northern England)
  • th'(poetic, usually before a vowel sound)
  • ye(archaic),ye(archaic, abbreviation),yͤ(archaic, abbreviation)
  • ẏe(obsolete),ẏe(obsolete, abbreviation)
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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terms derived fromthe (article)
Translations
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article
used as an alternative to a possessive pronoun before body parts
this
stressed, indicating that the object in question is the only one worthy of attention
with an adjectival noun, as in “the hungry” to mean “hungry people”
with a superlative
used with the name of a member of a class to refer to all things in that class
References
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  1. ^The templateTemplate:R:ine:LIPP does not use the parameter(s):
    volume=2
    Please seeModule:checkparams for help with this warning.    Dunkel, George E. (2014)Lexikon der indogermanischen Partikeln und Pronominalstämme [Lexicon of Indo-European Particles and Pronominal Stems] (Indogermanische Bibliothek. 2. Reihe: Wörterbücher) (in German), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter GmbH Heidelberg,→ISBN, pages732-733

Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishthe,thy,thi, fromOld Englishþē̆, probably a neuter instrumental form ("by that, thereby")—alongside the more commonþȳ andþon—of the demonstrative pronounsē ("that"). CompareDutchdeste ("the, the more"),Germandesto ("the, all the more"),Norwegianfordi andNorwegianav di ("because"),Icelandicþví(“the; because”),Faroesetí,Swedishty.

Adverb

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the (notcomparable)

  1. With acomparative or withmore 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, andthe more happy children.
    It looks weaker and weaker,the more I think about it.
  2. With acomparative, and often withfor it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated withnone.
    It was a difficult time, but I’mthe wiser for it.
    It was a difficult time, and I’m {none - not any}the wiser for it.
    I'm muchthe wiser for having had a difficult time like that.
  3. (with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.
    We wentthe furthest under her leadership.
    They trusted himthe most.
Usage notes
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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
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Translations
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the +comparative,the +comparative
indicating a result like the comparative
  • Finnish:no equivalent term in Finnish, but see(some contexts)entistä (fi),sitä (fi)
  • German:umso (de)
  • Portuguese:No word accompanies the comparative in this usage.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 3

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(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

Preposition

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the

  1. For each;per.
    valued at half a poundthe bushel; paying seven dollarsthe 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,pages251–2:
      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 shillingthe pound; mutton at the same price; fowls a dollarthe couple, and showing “more feathers than flesh.”
    • For more quotations using this term, seeCitations:the.

Etymology 4

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Pronoun

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the

  1. Obsolete form ofthee.

See also

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See also

References

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  • “the”, inOneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

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Crimean Gothic

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Etymology

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FromProto-Germanic*sa.

Article

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the

  1. the
    • [1562, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq,(Please provide the book title or journal name):
      omnibus vero dictionibus praeponebat articulum tho autthe
      specifically/but [he/she] placed the articletho orthe before every word]

Usage notes

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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

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Noun

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the c

  1. Alternative spelling ofte(“tea”)
    • 2016, Thorkild Hansen,Genklang: Rejser og portrætter 1959-89, Gyldendal A/S,→ISBN:
      Vi vågnede ved 6tiden og lavede dejligthe.
      We got up at about 6 AM and made lovelytea.
    • 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, dejligthe.”
      She smiles broadly, as the scent of tea spreads: ”Oh, lovelytea.”

Declension

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Declension ofthe
common
gender		singular
indefinitedefinite
nominativethetheen
genitivethestheens

Eastern Arrernte

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Pronoun

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the

  1. I(first person singular pronoun)

References

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Hadza

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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the m (fem.theko)

  1. you (thou)

Related terms

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Interlingua

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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the (pluralthes)

  1. tea

Irish

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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the

  1. Lenited form ofte.

Italian

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Noun

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the

  1. Misspelling oftè.

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Article

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the

  1. Alternative form ofþe(“the”)

Etymology 2

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Pronoun

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the

  1. Alternative form ofþe(“thee”)

Etymology 3

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Pronoun

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the

  1. Alternative form ofþei(“they”)

Etymology 4

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Verb

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the

  1. Alternative form oftheen

Murrinh-Patha

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Noun

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the

  1. ear

See also

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  • ye(incorporated noun)

References

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

Old High German

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Alternative forms

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Particle

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the (indeclinable, relative)

  1. that,who,which

References

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

Old Saxon

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Etymology 1

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FromProto-Germanic*sa. The originals- was replaced byth- by analogy with the other forms, but still preserved in the variantsē.

Determiner

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thē

  1. that,that one
    them uuīha uuīsa lēstean: To obeythat holy wise.
Declension
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Declension ofthē
singularplural
masculineneuterfeminine
nominativethethatthiuthia
accusativethanathatthiathia
genitivethesthestherathero
dativethemuthemutheruthem
instrumentalthiu—
Descendants
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  • Middle Low German:de
    • Low German:de

Etymology 2

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FromProto-Germanic*þa, fromProto-Indo-European*tó,*te-.

Particle

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the (indeclinable, relative)

  1. that,who,which

Phalura

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Etymology

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(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Postposition

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the (تھےۡ)

  1. to
  2. for
  3. at

References

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

Scots

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Alternative forms

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  • tha(common in Ulster Scots literature)

Etymology

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FromOld Englishse.

Pronunciation

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Determiner

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the

  1. the(definite article)

Usage notes

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

Further reading

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Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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Borrowed fromEnglishthe, which sounds similar toSerbo-Croatianda.

Conjunction

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the (no known Cyrillic variant)

  1. (Internetslang)Alternative spelling ofda
    neki kretenthe ihdrka emotivno
    some jerk to fuck with them emotionally
    the ovo okačim nafb 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

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Etymology

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Cognates includeDogribwhe.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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the (stem-dhe-)

  1. belt

Inflection

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Possessive inflection ofthe (-dheé)
singularplural
1st personsedheénaxedheé
2nd personnedheé
3rd person1)—gidheé
2)medheégodheé
4th personyedheé
reflexivesp.ɂededheékededheé
unsp.dedheé
reciprocal—ɂełedheé
indefiniteɂedheé
arealgodheé

1) Used when the subject is a group of human beings
and the object is singular.
2) Used when the previous condition does not apply.

References

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  • Keren Rice (1989)A Grammar of Slave, Berlin, West Germany: Mouton de Gruyter,→ISBN, page38

Swedish

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Noun

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the n

  1. Alternative spelling ofte (tea)

Declension

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Declension ofthe
nominativegenitive
singularindefinitethethes
definitetheettheets
pluralindefinitetheertheers
definitetheernatheernas

Anagrams

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Vietnamese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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

Noun

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the• (絁,𦂛,施,𫄋)

  1. a kind ofsilkgauze, often used to makeao dai
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Adjective

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the• (施)

  1. having astrong andfragrant smell or flavor, usually overlaps with what described as "minty" or "citrusy" in English
Derived terms
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Welsh

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Noun

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the

  1. Aspirate mutation ofte.

Mutation

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Mutated forms ofte
radicalsoftnasalaspirate
tedenhethe

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yola

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Article

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the

  1. Alternative form ofa(“the”)
    • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number12, page88:
      Th' ball want a cowlee,the gazb maate all rize;
      The ball o'er shot the goal,the dust rose all about;

References

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  • 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, published1867,page88
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