Etimology
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pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem.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
Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
Used with an adjective
Examples
I’m reading the 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.
I sleep in the bedroom!
No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
God save the Queen!
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.
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.
A stone hit him on the head.
How's the wife?
How's the Sal today?"How are you, Sal?"
"How are you, Sal?"
square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater
That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
"Good Heavens, man! Why, he is the authority. If you want pure laboratory experiments those are the books."
“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.
That was the juiciest apple pie ever.
May the better man win.
Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.
The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker.
The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer.
That apple pie was the best.
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.
Related words
synonyms
le
Etimology
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)
With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives.
With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none.
(with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.
Examples
The hotter the better.
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.
It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.
It was a difficult time, and I’m {none - not any} the wiser for it.
I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.
We went the furthest under her leadership.; The they trusted him the most.
Etimology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
preposition
the
For each; per.
Examples
valued at half a pound the bushel; paying seven dollars the year interest
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.”
Etimology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
noun
the (uncountable)
A topology name.