the

/t͟hə/

Middle English, from Old English thē, masculine demonstrative pronoun & definite article, alteration (influenced by oblique cases — as thæs, genitive — & neuter, thæt) of sē; akin to Greek ho, masculine demonstrative pronoun & definite article

definite article

  1. —used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is definite or has been previously specified by context or by circumstance

  2. —used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is a unique or a particular member of its class

  3. —used as a function word before nouns that designate natural phenomena or points of the compass

adverb

  1. than before : than otherwise —used before a comparative

  2. to what extent

  3. to that extent

preposition

  1. per

a dollar the dozen