Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
The
The
(thē, when emphatic or alone; thē̍, obscure before a vowel; the, obscure before a consonant; 37)
, definite arti
cle.
[AS.
ðē
, a later form for earlier nom. sing. masc. sē
, formed under the influence of the oblique cases. See That
, pron.] A word placed before nouns to limit or individualize their meaning.
☞
The
was originally a demonstrative pronoun, being a weakened form of that
. When placed before adjectives and participles, it converts them into abstract nouns; as, the
sublime and the
beautiful. Burke.
The
is used regularly before many proper names, as of rivers, oceans, ships, etc.; as, the
Nile, the
Atlantic, the
Great Eastern, the
West Indies, The
Hague. The
with an epithet or ordinal number often follows a proper name; as, Alexander the
Great; Napoleon the
Third. The
may be employed to individualize a particular kind or species; as, the
grasshopper shall be a burden. Eccl. xii. 5.
The
,adv.
By that; by how much; by so much; on that account; – used before comparatives;
“Yet not the more cease I.” as,
. the
longer we continue in sin, the
more difficult it is to reformMilton.
So much
Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate.
the
rather thou, Celestial Light,Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers
Irradiate.
Milton.
Webster 1828 Edition
The
THE
, an adjective or definitive adjective.1.
This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as the laws of the twelve tables. The independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security or private rights,and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. The sun is the source of light and heat. This he calls the preaching of the cross.
2.
The is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. The fig tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.3.
In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel. Th' adorning thee with so much art,
Is but a barb'rous skill.
4.
The is used before adjectives in the comparative and superlative degree. The longer we continue in sin, the more difficult it is to reform. The most strenuous exertions will be used to emancipate Greece. The most we can do is to submit; the best we can do; the worst that can happen.