Definition for: the

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English

Etymology

Built on Old English demonstrative pronouns: þe, a late variant of se, originally masculine nominative, but in Middle English superceding all previous Old English forms (se, sēo, þæt).

Pronunciation

• ( stressed )

  AHD: th ē , IPA: /ðiː/ , SAMPA: /Di:/

• ( unstressed )

  AHD: th ə , IPA: /ðə/ , SAMPA: /D@/ ( but see notes below )

Definite article

the

1. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that the entity it articulates is presupposed; something already assumed as existing. Compare I'm reading a book with I'm reading the book .

   The word "the" is the most common word in the English language.

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

2. When stressed, indicates that the object in question is considered to be the best or the only one worthy of attention.

   That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.

3. With an adjectival noun, indicates all persons to whom the adjectival noun applies.

   Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.

4. With a superlative , indicates the person or thing to which the superlative applies.

   That apple pie was the best.

5. Used as an alternative to a possessive pronoun before body parts.

   A stone hit him on the head. ( = "A stone hit him on his head.")

6. Used with the name of a member of a class to refer to all things in that class.

   The cat is a solitary creature. ( = "All cats are solitary creatures.")

Usage notes

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

• When it is used for emphasis ( This is the hospital for heart surgery. ).
• When the speaker pauses between the and the next word ( the ... sovereignity ).
• In many but not all dialects, when the next word begins with a vowel ( the onion ) (compare with a vs. an).

The word is generally not pronounced distinctly when attached to a word beginning with a consonant, in which case the e becomes a schwa or is dropped entirely. In dialects that do not pronounce the distinctly before a vowel, a glottal stop is generally inserted (e.g., the Us in the Us festival would still be pronounced differently from thus in thus festival seating should be outlawed ).

Derived terms

• nevertheless

Translations

article

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 as an alternative to a possessive pronoun before body parts

used with the name of a member of a class to refer to all things in that class

Adverb

the

1. Used with comparative s of adjectives or of adverbs to form adverbial phrases.

   The hotter the better.

   The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.

   It was a difficult time, but I'm the wiser for it.

Translations

See also

• a/an
• da (slang)
• de (slang)
• t'
• that
• this
• article on grammatical articles
• article on the word 'the'

Murrinh-Patha

Noun

the

1. Ear.

See also

• ye ( incorporated noun )

References

Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages by Mark Abley (2003)

Other Translations for "the"

Braille 6 Dot
Braille 8 Dot
Sign Language Spelling
Morse Code		- .... .
Binary		1110100 1101000 1100101
Hex		746865
Pig Latin		ethay

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