Referring to a specific member of a class and used anaphorically, pointing to a person or thing previously mentioned: the, this, that; with plural: the, these, those: (a) with noun; also with adj. as noun or cardinal number as noun; (b) with pron.: ~ ilke (same); ~ self, the same one; also, myself, itself, etc. [see also self adj., n., & pron. 5.(d), (e), (f)]; (c) with noun, now further specified by an adj., a ppl. as adj., or a num.; also, with pron. further specified by an adj. [quot. a1420]; (d) with noun or occas. adj. as noun, now further specified by a prep. phrase; also, further specified by an adj. and a prep. phrase; (e) with noun or occas. a pron. or a sup. adj. as noun, now further specified by a rel. clause; also, further specified by an adj. or a prep. phrase and a rel. clause; (f) with pron. or num. as noun (or in noun phrase), referring to a member or constituent part of a pair or group; also, further specified by a prep. phrase; ~ on (other), ~ five (nin), ~ fifte (second), ~ first frend, etc.; (g) with adj. (comp. or sup.) as noun or in noun phrase referring to a member or constituent part of a pair, group, or class;—sometimes with the absolute sup. and the class understood; also, further specified by a prep. phrase or rel. clause; ~ best (gretteste, leste), ~ leste peine, etc.; (h) with noun or noun phrase denoting a person in direct address.

Referring to a specific member of a class and pointing to a person or thing not previously mentioned, but instead understood from the context or already known: the, that; with plural: the, those: (a) with noun, ger., or cpd. denoting a specific person, place, institution, event, etc.; also, with ordinal number or adj. (comp. or sup.) as noun; (b) with noun or cpd. denoting a specific time, a period, or a stage in a process or an event; for ~ time, at that time; as for ~ time, as of now, for now; also, in adverbial phrases: ~ dai, today, nowadays; ~ mid-dai, in the middle of that day; ~ mene-time, ~ while (whiles), in the meantime, meanwhile; al ~ mene-time, all during that time; ~ night, on that night; (c) with noun denoting a specific person's or animal's bodily part, a person's possessions, kin, etc., expressing a possessive relationship: his, her, its, their, etc.; (d) with noun, now further specified by an adj. or a num.; ~ first dai, ~ same time, on ~ nexte dai, etc.; ~ ouen being (bodi, etc.), its own being (body, etc.); also, in adverbial phrases: ~ nexte (seventhe, etc.) dai, on the next (the seventh, etc.) day; ~ same manere, in the same manner; ~ same time, at the same time; ~ thrid time, a third time, this third time; (e) with noun or ger., now further specified by a prep. phrase; also, further specified by an adj. or a num. and a prep. phrase; (f) with noun or sup. adj. as noun, now further specified by a rel. clause, noun clause, or temporal or locative clause; also further specified by an adj. and a rel. clause.

With noun, noun phrase, cpd., ger., adj. or ppl. as noun, or num. as noun, referring to a specific member of a class and pointing to a person or thing neither previously mentioned nor understood from the context nor already known: the, that; with plural: the, those: (a) particularized by an adj. or a num.; also, in adverbial phrases: ~ first thre daies, ~ nexte son-dai, etc., on the first three days, on the next Sunday, etc.; (b) particularized by a prep. phrase or by an adj. and a prep. phrase; also, in names of churches, cities, etc.: ~ chirche of osnei, ~ cite of bedlem, ~ rivere of temese, etc. [cp. sense 2b.(c)]; (c) in references to a day of the week or month, regnal year, etc.: particularized by a prep. or noun phrase or by an adj. or ordinal number and a prep. phrase: ~ eightethe dai of januarie, in ~ sixte yer of herode, etc.; (d) particularized by a ppl. or an inf. phrase or by an adj. and a ppl. or an inf. phrase; (e) particularized by a rel. clause or by an adj. and a rel. clause; (f) particularized by a clause of time: ~ dai as, ~ time that (whanne), etc., the day (time, etc.) when (sb. does sth., sth. happens); also particularized by an adj. and a noun clause [last quot.]; also, in conjunctive phrases: ~ while that (the), ~ whiles that, ~ while (whiles), while (sb. does sth., sth. happens, etc.), when; (g) particularized by a noun clause or by a sup. adj. and a noun clause.

With rel. pron. or adj., usu. pointing to a person or thing previously mentioned (as in sense 1a.), but occas. pointing to a person or thing neither previously mentioned nor understood from the context (as in sense 1c.): (a) for an animate antecedent: ~ which, who; whom; ~ whom, whom; ~ whos, whose; (b) for an inanimate antecedent: ~ which, that, which; also, of which [2nd quot.]; (c) for a temporal antecedent: ~ which, in or on which, when; in ~ which; (d) with rel. pron. used anaphorically & occas. cataphorically: ~ which, it; those; also, the one who; the one which; those who; those which; also, you who [quot. a1382 SSol.]; also, followed by pers. pron. in apposition: ~ which ye, you; (e) with rel. pron. used indefinitely: ~ whether (which), which (of two alternatives); (f) with rel. adj. or rel. poss. pron. as adj.: ~ which, which (illness, gospels, etc.); ~ whos, whose (nature, welfare, etc.); also, used anaphorically: ~ which, this (city, year, etc.); these (things, etc.).

Having unique reference: the: (a) with noun, noun phrase, or adj. as noun denoting God, the Savior, the Virgin Mary, the devil, etc.; also, used with personal name: ~ maudelaine [see also Maudelaine n. 1.(a)]; (b) with noun preceding a personal name in a title or an epithet: ~ apostle seinte jon, ~ king william, ~ lord jesu crist, etc.; (c) with noun, noun phrase, adj., or ordinal number in apposition to a preceding personal name in a title or an epithet: arthur ~ bold, david ~ right-wise king, elias ~ prophete, henri ~ ferthe, etc.; (d) used before an adj., a ppl., or cardinal number preceding a noun, noun phrase, cpd., or personal name;—sometimes further qualified by a rel. clause; also, with adj. following a noun [quot. c1385, 2nd]; ~ god job, ~ livinge lord, ~ wikked fend, etc.; (e) with noun followed by of or o phrase in a title or an epithet for a person, deity, etc.; also with personal name [quot. c1400]; ~ erl of chester, ~ lord o might, ~ goddesse of love, etc.

Having unique reference: the: (a) with noun, noun phrase, or adj. as noun denoting heaven, hell, a planet, a cardinal direction, etc.; (b) with the name of a region, mountain, etc.: ~ alpes, ~ marche, ~ red se, etc.; (c) with noun in apposition to a following proper name in a place name: ~ mount olivete, ~ mount sion, ~ se alexandrin, etc.; also, with noun and a following of phrase in place name: ~ forest of dene, ~ mount of sinai, etc. [sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 1c.(b)]; (d) with noun or adj. in apposition to a preceding proper noun in the name of a city, river, region, etc.: jerusalem ~ cite, libie ~ heigh, etc.

Having unique reference: the: (a) with noun, noun phrase, or adj. as noun denoting the Christian church or faith, its rites, beliefs, etc.: ~ chirche, ~ cristendom, etc.; (b) used before an adj. or a num. preceding a noun or noun phrase of the kind in (a); also, with adj. following a noun, occas. further qualified by a rel. clause: ~ holi rode, ~ seven dedli (hedli) sinnes, ~ ten hestes, etc.; (c) with noun, noun phrase, or cpd. denoting a religious season, feast day, ages of the world, etc.: ~ advent, ~ lenten, etc.; also, further qualified by an ordinal number or a prep. phrase: ~ fifte age of the world, ~ second age, etc.; (d) used with noun denoting the Bible or a part of it, a liturgical formula, etc.: ~ bok, ~ laue, etc.; also, further qualified by an adj., a num., etc.: ~ commune crede, ~ four gospelles, ~ holi writ, etc.; (e) used with noun denoting a secular institution; (f) used with noun denoting an abstraction: ~ deth, ~ lif, etc.

Having unique reference: the: (a) used with noun, noun phrase, or cpd. as the name of an animal, a language, ship, etc.; (b) in titles of books or treatises; (c) in personal names; (d) in place names.

Having generic reference: the; also, a: (a) with noun, cpd., or adj. as noun denoting a class or type of person, a race, or a representative of such a class or type; pleien ~ fol [see also pleien v.(1) 6.(c)]; (b) with adj. or ppl. as noun denoting a class or representative of a class; ~ hungrie, ~ naked, etc.; (c) with noun, cpd., or adj. as noun denoting an animal, a fish, plant, etc.; in comparisons: rodi as ~ rose, whit so ~ flour, etc.; pleien ~ lioun [see also pleien v.(1) 6.(c)]; (d) with noun or occas. adj. as noun denoting a bodily part, component, faculty, disease, etc.; in comparisons: bitter as ~ galle, etc. [see also galle n.(1) 1.(c)]; (e) with noun or cpd. denoting the body, heart, soul, an emotion, etc.