THE (2)

The (t͡hē, when emphatic or alone; t͡hē̍, obscure before a vowel; t͡he, obscure before a consonant; 37), definite article. [[AS. ðe, 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.