the

adv

Etymology: 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.

1. With a comparative or with more 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.”

2. With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none.

   “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.”

3. Beyond all others.

   “We went the furthest under her leadership.”

   “They trusted him the most.”

article

Etymology: 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pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só. Cognate with Saterland Frisian die (“the”), West Frisian de (“the”), Dutch de (“the”), German Low German de (“the”), German der (“the”), Danish de (“the”), Swedish de (“the”), Icelandic sá (“that”) within Germanic and with Sanskrit स (sá, “the, that”), Ancient Greek ὁ (ho, “the”), Tocharian B se (“this”) among other Indo-European languages.

1. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “I’m reading the book Mary reviewed. (Compare I’m reading a book Mary reviewed.)”

   “You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayor the street needs cleaning.”

2. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.”

   “God save the Queen!”

3. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “No one in the whole country had seen it before.”

   “I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.”

4. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

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

   “(informal) How's the wife? (= "How is your wife?")”

5. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “How's the Sal today?”

6. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater”

7. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “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."”

8. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “"My name," he said, "is Hercule Poirot." "Not," the Commissary stammered, "not the Hercule Poirot?"”

   “‘[…] he introduced us to Gwenog Jones.’ ‘Gwenog Jones?’ said Ron, his eyes widening under his own goggles. ‘The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?’”

9. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

   “That was the juiciest apple pie ever.”

   “May the better man win.”

10. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

    “Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.”

    “The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker.”

11. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun

    “The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer.”

12. Used with an adjective

    “That apple pie was the best.”

13. Used with an adjective

    “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.”

14. Used with an adjective

    “the Irish are...; the Chinese are...; the French are...”

prep

1. For each; per.

   “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.””

pron

1. Early Modern form of thee.

   “Feſtus ſayde with a lowde voyce: Paul / thou arte beſides thy ſilfe. Moche learnynge hath made the mad.”