definite article
1.
2.
(used to mark a proper noun, natural phenomenon, ship, building, time, point of the compass, branch of endeavor, or field of study as something well-known or unique): the sun; the Alps; the Queen Elizabeth; the past; the West.
3.
(used with or as part of a title): the Duke of Wellington; the Reverend john smith.
4.
(used to mark a noun as indicating the best-known, most approved, most important, most satisfying, etc.): the skiing center of the U.S.; If you're going to work hard, now is the time.
5.
(used to mark a noun as being used generically): The dog is a quadruped.
6.
(used in place of a possessive pronoun, to note a part of the body or a personal belonging): He won't be able to play football until the leg mends.
7.
(used before adjectives that are used substantively, to note an individual, a class or number of individuals, or an abstract idea): to visit the sick; from the sublime to the ridiculous.
8.
(used before a modifying adjective to specify or limit its modifying effect): He took the wrong road and drove miles out of his way.
9.
(used to indicate one particular decade of a lifetime or of a century): the sixties; the gay nineties.
10.
(one of many of a class or type, as of a manufactured item, as opposed to an individual one): Did you listen to the radio last night?
11.
enough: He saved until he had the money for a new car. She didn't have the courage to leave.
12.
(used distributively, to note any one separately) for, to, or in each; a or an: at one dollar the pound.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English, Old English, uninflected stem of the demonstrative pronoun. See that
before 900; Middle English, Old English, uninflected stem of the demonstrative pronoun. See that
Pronunciation note
As shown above, the pronunciation of the definite article the changes, primarily depending on whether the following sound is a consonant or a vowel. Before a consonant sound the pronunciation is
[th
uh] the book, the mountain [thuh-book, thuh-moun-tn]. Before a vowel sound it is usually [thee] sometimes [thi] the apple, the end [thee or thi-ap-uhl, thee or thi-end]. As an emphatic form (“I didn't say a book—I said the book.”) or a citation form (“The word the is a definite article.”), the usual pronunciation is [thee] although in both of these uses of the stressed form, [thee] is often replaced by [thuh] especially among younger speakers.
As shown above, the pronunciation of the definite article the changes, primarily depending on whether the following sound is a consonant or a vowel. Before a consonant sound the pronunciation is
[thuh] the book, the mountain [thuh-book, thuh-moun-tn]. Before a vowel sound it is usually [thee] sometimes [thi] the apple, the end [thee or thi-ap-uhl, thee or thi-end]. As an emphatic form (“I didn't say a book—I said the book.”) or a citation form (“The word the is a definite article.”), the usual pronunciation is [thee] although in both of these uses of the stressed form, [thee] is often replaced by [thuh] especially among younger speakers. 00:10
The
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adverb
1.
(used to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree and to signify “in or by that,” “on that account,” “in or by so much,” or “in some or any degree”): He's been on vacation and looks the better for it.
2.
(used in correlative constructions to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree, in one instance with relative force and in the other with demonstrative force, and signifying “by how much … by so much” or “in what degree … in that degree”): the more the merrier; The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
the-
variant of theo- before a vowel: thearchy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To the
Collins
World English Dictionary
the1 ((stressed or emphatic) ðiː, (unstressed before a consonant) ðə, (unstressed before a vowel) ðɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —determiner | |
| 1. | Compare a used preceding a noun that has been previously specified: the pain should disappear soon; the man then opened the door |
| 2. | Compare a used with a qualifying word or phrase to indicate a particular person, object, etc, as distinct from others: ask the man standing outside; give me the blue one |
| 3. | used preceding certain nouns associated with one's culture, society, or community: to go to the doctor; listen to the news; watch the television |
| 4. | used preceding present participles and adjectives when they function as nouns: the singing is awful; the dead salute you |
| 5. | used preceding titles and certain uniquely specific or proper nouns, such as place names: the United States; the Honourable Edward Brown; the Chairman; the moon |
| 6. | used preceding a qualifying adjective or noun in certain names or titles: William the Conqueror; Edward the First |
| 7. | used preceding a noun to make it refer to its class generically: the white seal is hunted for its fur; this is good for the throat; to play the piano |
| 8. | used instead of my, your, her, etc, with parts of the body: take me by the hand |
| 9. | (usually stressed) the best, only, or most remarkable: Harry's is |
| 10. | used with proper nouns when qualified: written by the young Hardy |
| 11. | another word for per, esp with nouns or noun phrases of cost: fifty pence the pound |
| 12. | facetious, derogatory often, or my; our: the wife goes out on Thursdays |
| 13. | used preceding a unit of time in phrases or titles indicating an outstanding person, event, etc: match of the day; player of the year |
| [Middle English, from Old English thē, a demonstrative adjective that later superseded sē (masculine singular) and sēo, sio (feminine singular); related to Old Frisian thi, thiu, Old High German der, diu] | |
| the2 (ðə, ðɪ) | |
| —adv | |
| 1. | ( |
| 2. | used correlatively before each of two comparative adjectives or adverbs to indicate equality: the sooner you come, the better; the more I see you, the more I love you |
| [Old English thī, thӯ, instrumental case of | |
| the- | |
| —combining form | |
| a variant of theo- | |
| theo- or (before a vowel) the- | |
| —combining form | |
| indicating God or gods: theology | |
| [from Greek theos god] | |
| the- or (before a vowel) the- | |
| —combining form | |
| [from Greek theos god] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
the
late O.E. þe, nominative masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun and adjective. After c.950, it replaced earlier se (masc.), seo (fem.), þæt (neut.), and probably represents se altered by the þ- form which was used in all the masc. oblique cases (see below). O.E. se is from
PIE base *so- "this, that" (cf. Skt. sa, Avestan ha, Gk. ho, he "the," Ir., Gael. so "this"). For the þ- forms, see that. The s- forms were entirely superseded in English by mid-13c., excepting dialectal survival slightly longer in Kent. O.E. used 10 different words for "the" (see table, below), but did not distinguish "the" from "that." That survived for a time as a definite article before vowels (cf. that one or that other). Adv. use in the more the merrier, the sooner the better, etc. is a relic of O.E. þy, originally the instrumentive case of the neuter demonstrative þæt (see that).
| Masc. | Fem. | Neut. | Plural | |
| Nom. | se | seo | þæt | þa |
| Acc. | þone | þa | þæt | þa |
| Gen. | þæs | þære | þæs | þara |
| Dat. | þæm | þære | þæm | þæm |
| Inst. | þy, þon | -- | þy, þon | -- |
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Using nature as his canvas, the artist creates works of transcendent beauty.
But an extract of the plant could one day form the basis of cancer treatments.
For the first time, psychologists mapped muscle variation in the face.
Its entrance to the market could help make solar power cheaper.
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