theとは 意味・読み方・使い方

発音

• (Received Pronunciation)
  • (weak form before consonants) IPA: /ðə/, enPR: thə
  • (weak form before vowels) IPA: /ði/ [ðɪj], enPR: thē
  • (strong form) IPA: /ðiː/, enPR: thē
• (General American)
  • (weak form before consonants) IPA: /ðə/, enPR: thə
  • (weak form before vowels) IPA: /ði/ [ðɪj], /ðə/, enPR: thē, thə
  • (strong form) IPA: /ði/ [ðɪj], enPR: thē
• 韻: -iː
• Homophone: thee

語源 1

From 中期英語 þe, from 古期英語 þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem.

冠詞

the

1. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun
   1. The definite grammatical article that shows that the noun phrase that immediately follows it is definitely identifiable...
      1. ...because it has already been mentioned, is to be completely specified in the same sentence, or very shortly thereafter. [from 10th c.]

         I’m reading the book Mary reviewed. (Compare I’m reading a book Mary reviewed.)

         You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayor the street needs cleaning.

         The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.

         the street that runs all the way through my hometown

         • 2016, VOA Learning English‎, archived from the original on 30 September 2017:

           I sleep in the bedroom!

      2. ...because it is presumed to be definitely known in context or from shared knowledge.
         1. Used before a noun designating something considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. [from 10th c.]

            No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.

            God save the Queen!

            • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 1:8, column 2:

              I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

         2. Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. [from 12th c.]

            No one in the whole country had seen it before.

            I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.

            Take me to the airport/station/hospital/office/park/match/meeting/et cetera.

         3. Used before a body part, a family member, a pet (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. [from 12th c.]

            A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)

            (informal) How's the wife? (= "How is your wife?")

         4. (colloquial) Precedes a familiar nickname or other term of address.

            How's the Sal today?

            "How are you, Sal?"

         5. Used in many idiomatic expressions and proverbs to refer to common objects, roles, or situations connected with something definite, in the manner of an analogy

            square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater

   2. When stressed, indicates that it describes something which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. [from 18th c.]

      That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.

      • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

        "Good Heavens, man! Why, he is the authority. If you want pure laboratory experiments those are the books."

      • 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club‎:

        “New Kid On The Block” doubles as a terrific showcase for the Sea Captain who, in the grand tradition of Simpsons supporting characters, quickly goes from being a stereotype to an archetype, from being a crusty sea-captain character to the crusty sea-captain character.

   3. When stressed, used before the name of a famous person, to distinguish said person from a hypothetical lesser-known person with the same name.
      • 1928, Agatha Christie, The Mystery of the Blue Train:

        "My name," he said, "is Hercule Poirot." "Not," the Commissary stammered, "not the Hercule Poirot?"

      • 2005, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

        ‘[…] he introduced us to Gwenog Jones.’ ‘Gwenog Jones?’ said Ron, his eyes widening under his own goggles. ‘The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?’

   4. Used before a noun phrase beginning with superlative or comparative adjective or an ordinal number, indicating that the noun refers to a single item.

      That was the juiciest apple pie ever.

      May the better man win.

      • 2024 August 21, Liz Parker Kuhn, “California Pizza Kitchen, Mike's Hot Honey drop 'swicy' new pizza”, in Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery‎:

        Starting today through September 30, guests can wow their taste buds with the "swiciest" sensation of the season, the Nashville-Style Hot Honey Pizza.

   5. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. [from 9th c.]
      • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 536:

        Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.

      The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker.

   6. Used with the plural of a surname to indicate the entire family.

      The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer.

2. Used with an adjective
   1. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]

      That apple pie was the best.

   2. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. [from 9th c.]

      Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.

      One doesn't choose the color of one's chess pieces; the white are assigned to the player who moves first.

   3. Used before a demonym ending in -ish or -ese to refer to people of a given country collectively.

      the Irish are...; the Chinese are...; the French are...

使用する際の注意点

別の表記

• da (d'), teh (informal or dialectal)
• de (eye dialect, AAVE)
• t' (Northern England)
• th' (poetic, usually before a vowel sound)
• ye (archaic), y (archaic, abbreviation), yͤ (archaic, abbreviation)
• ẏe (obsolete), ẏ (obsolete, abbreviation)

同意語

• le

派生語

参照

語源 2

From 中期英語 the, thy, thi, from 古期英語 þē̆, probably a neuter instrumental form ("by that, thereby")—alongside the more common þȳ and þon—of the demonstrative pronoun sē ("that"). Compare Dutch des te ("the, the more"), German desto ("the, all the more"), Norwegian fordi and Norwegian av di ("because"), Icelandic því (“the; because”), Faroese tí, Swedish ty.

副詞

the (not comparable)

1. With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives.

   The hotter(,) the better. (comma usually omitted in such very short expressions)

   The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.

   The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children.

   It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.

2. With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none.

   It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.

   It was a difficult time, and I’m {none - not any} the wiser for it.

   I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.

3. (with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.

   We went the furthest under her leadership.

   They trusted him the most.

使用する際の注意点

This is called the "comparative correlative", but it is also known as the "correlative construction", the "conditional comparative", or the "the...the construction".

派生語

• nevertheless
• nonetheless

語源 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

前置詞

the

1. For each; per.

   valued at half a pound the bushel; paying seven dollars the year interest

   • 1837, James Edward Alexander, Narrative of a Voyage of Observation Among the Colonies of Western Africa, in the Flag-ship Thalia; and of a Campaign in Kaffir-land, on the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, in 1835, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, pages 251–2:

     Next morning I was up at an early hour, to see the market held near the water gate. The beef was excellent: but at the high prices of ten-pence and one shilling the pound; mutton at the same price; fowls a dollar the couple, and showing “more feathers than flesh.”

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:the.

語源 4

代名詞

the

1. Obsolete form of thee.
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Actes off the Apostles xxvj:[24], folio cxcv, recto:

     Feſtus ſayde with a lowde voyce: Paul / thou arte beſides thy ſilfe. Moche learnynge hath made the mad.

参考

参照

• “the”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

アナグラム

• eth-, Eth., TEH, teh, ETH, Eth, het, EHT, HET, eth, Teh, -eth

冠詞

the

1. alternative form of þe (“the”)
   • 14th c. Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales. General Prologue: 1-2.

     Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
     The droghte of March hath perced to the roote

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

語源 2

代名詞

the

1. alternative form of þe (“thee”)

語源 3

代名詞

the

1. alternative form of þei (“they”)

語源 4

動詞

the

1. alternative form of theen

別の表記

• -ðe, -ðhe, -eth, -ethe, -ith, -ithe, -th, -þ, -þe, -yth
• -t, -te (following fricatives)

発音

• IPA: /-θ(ə)/, /-ð(ə)/
• (following fricatives) IPA: /-t(ə)/

接尾辞

-the

1. (rarely productive) Forms abstract nouns denoting a state or attribute, usually from adjectives but occasionally from verbs; -th, -ness

使用する際の注意点

• Final /ə/ is usually deleted when it precedes this suffix; this often results in shortening of any long vowel preceding the resultant consonant cluster.

派生語

派生した語

• English: -th, -t
• Scots: -th, -t

参照

• “-th(e, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

語源 2

Inherited from 古期英語 -þa (ordinal suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-dō, from Proto-Germanic *-dô.

別の表記

• -d, -de, -ðe, -eth, -eþe, -iþ, -th, -þe, -yth
• -t, -te (following fricatives)

発音

• IPA: /-θ(ə)/, /-ð(ə)/
• (following fricatives) IPA: /-t(ə)/
• (influenced by Old Norse) IPA: /-d(ə)/

接尾辞

-the

1. Forms ordinal numerals, except for first, seconde, thridde; -th.

使用する際の注意点

• Final /ə/ is sometimes deleted when it precedes this suffix; this often results in shortening of any long vowel preceding the resultant consonant cluster.

派生語

派生した語

• English: -th
• Scots: -t

語源

From Latin theo- (“god”), combining form of theos (“god”); from Ancient Greek θεο- (theo-, “god”), combining form of θεός (theós, “god”).

発音

• IPA: /θiː/

接頭辞

the- (combining form)

1. (religion) god or deity

派生語

参照

• “theo-, comb. form”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015-03-17.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “theo-”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

アナグラム

• eth-, Eth., TEH, teh, ETH, Eth, het, EHT, HET, eth, Teh, -eth

語源

From Ancient Greek θεο- (theo-, “god”), combining form of θεός (theós, “god”).

接頭辞

the- (combining form)

1. combining form of theos

派生語

参照

• "Thěos", in Nicholas Salmon, Stemmata latinitatis: or, An etymological Latin dictionary, London, printed for the author by W. and C. Spilsbury, 1796, v. 2, pp. 675–676. →OCLC.
• “theo-, comb. form”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015-03-17.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025), “theo-”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.