The and that are common developments from the same Old English system. Old English had a definite article se (in the masculine gender), sēo (feminine), and þæt (neuter). In Middle English, these had all merged into þe, the ancestor of the Modern English word the.
Why do we have the word the?
The word the is very important to native speakers of English because it is used to divide the world we process through language into two categories: old information and new information. It helps us to divide the world into things which we agree are known, or important, and things which we feel aren't.
How old is the word the?
It was the language spoken by the Anglo-Saxon people under many dialects from about 500 to about 1100 when the Norman invasion began the transformation to Middle English. Depending on case and number, it has such meanings as: the; that; that one; who; which; that which; this; he; she, them, those, etc.
Where did the word that originate?
From Proto-Germanic *that, from PIE *tod-, extended form of demonstrative pronominal base *-to- (see -th (1)). With the breakdown of the grammatical gender system, it came to be used in Middle English and Modern English for all genders.
Why does English use the?
English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article. For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book.
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