the-

combining form or theo-

Etymology: Middle English theo-, from Late Latin, from Latin, god, from Greek the-, theo- god, God, from theos; perhaps akin to Middle High German getwās ghost, Lithuanian dvasia spirit, dvasas spirit, breath — more at dust

1.

a. : God

theism

theocentric

b. : god

theomancy

2.

a. : theological and

theoastrological

b. : theology and

theomythology

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var. of theo- before a vowel: thearchy.

* * *

the¹ «unstressed before a consonant thuh; unstressed before a vowel thih; stressed thee», definite article.

The word the shows that a certain one (or ones) is meant: »

The dog I saw had no tail. The boys on the horses are my brothers.

Various special uses are:

1. to mark a noun as indicating something well-known; the only: »

the prodigal son, the Alps.

2. denoting the time in question or under consideration, now or then present: »

the hour of victory. Was that the moment to act?

3. with or as part of a title: »

the Duke of Wellington, the Right Honorable the Earl of Derby, the Reverend John Smith.

4. to mark a noun as indicating the best or most important of its kind: »

the place to dine.

5. to mark a noun as being any one of its kind; any: »

The dog is a quadruped.

6. to indicate a part of the body or a personal belonging: »

to hang the head in shame, to clutch at the sleeve of one's father.

7. before adjectives used as nouns; that which is; those which are: »

to visit the sick, a love of the beautiful.

8. distributively, to denote any one separately: »

candy at one dollar the pound, so much by the day.

╂[Old English thē, the, reduction of oblique forms of sē, demonstrative pronoun and adjective. Compare etym. under that (Cf. ↑that), this. (Cf. ↑this)]

the² «thuh, thee», adverb.

The word the is used to modify an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree:

1. signifying “in or by that,” “on that account,” “in some or any degree”: »

If you start now, you will be back the sooner.

2. used correlatively, in one instance with relative force and in the other with demonstrative force, and meaning “by how much…by that much,” “in what degree…in that degree”: »

the more the merrier, the sooner the better. The longer you work, the more you get. The later I sit up, the sleepier I become.

╂[Old English thē, variant of thý, instrumental case of demonstrative thæt that]

the-,

combining form. the form of theo- (Cf. ↑theo-) before vowels, as in theanthropism.