English word the comes from Old English (ca. 450-1100) forþon, Proto-Indo-European *tébʰye, Proto-Indo-European *tóm, Old English (ca. 450-1100) þȳ, Old English (ca. 450-1100) se, and later Proto-Germanic *sa (That.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| forþon | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | |
| *tébʰye | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| *tóm | Proto-Indo-European (ine) | |
| þȳ | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | |
| se | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | That, he (masculine singular form) The That (masculine singular form). |
| forthy | Middle English (1100-1500) (enm) | |
| *þiz | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | |
| *sa | Proto-Germanic (gem-pro) | That. |
| sē | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | |
| þe | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | (demonstrative) the, he: late variant of se. |
| þē | Old English (ca. 450-1100) (ang) | |
| thyn | Middle English (1100-1500) (enm) | |
| the | English (en) | Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. [from 10th c.]. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a [...] |