the

determiner

1》 denoting one or more people or things already mentioned or assumed to be common knowledge; the definite article.

    ↘used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique.

    ↘(with a unit of time) the present.

    ↘informal used instead of a possessive.

    ↘used with a surname in its plural form to refer to a family or married couple.

2》 used to point forward to a following qualifying or defining clause or phrase.

    ↘(chiefly with rulers and family members with the same name) used after a name to qualify it.

3》 used to make a generalized reference rather than identifying a particular instance.

4》 enough of.

5》 (pronounced stressing ‘the’) used to indicate that someone or something is the best known or most important of that name or type.

6》 used adverbially with comparatives to indicate how one amount or degree of something varies in relation to another.

    ↘(usu. all the ——) used to emphasize the amount or degree to which something is affected.

Origin

OE se, sēo, thæt, ult. superseded by forms from Northumbrian and North Mercian thē, of Gmc origin.