the

Meanings

1. 1
   det

   Used before a noun to refer to a specific person or thing already known or mentioned.

   I'm reading the book Mary reviewed.

2. 2
   det

   Used before a superlative adjective.

   That apple pie was the best.

3. 3
   adv

   Used with two comparatives to show that things change together.

   The sooner you start, the better.

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pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from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 G…

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