Emily Dickinson Lexicon

THAW, v.i. [Sax. thawan; G. thauen; D. dooyen; Dan. töer; Sw. töa; Gr. τηκω. Class Dg.]

1. To melt, dissolve or become fluid, as ice or snow. [It is remarkable that this word is used only of things that congeal by frost. We never say, to thaw metal of any kind.]
2. To become so warm as to melt ice and snow; used of weather.

THAW, v.t.

To melt; to dissolve; as ice, snow, hail or frozen earth.

THAW'ED, pp.

Melted, as ice or snow.

THAW'ING, ppr.

Dissolving; resolving into a fluid; liquefying; as, any thing frozen.

THE, a. [an adjective, or definitive adjective. Sax. the; D. de. Qu. Ch. דא.]

1. This adjective is used as a definitive, that is, before nouns which are specific or understood; or it is used to limit their signification to a specific thing or things, or to describe them; as, the laws of the twelve tables. The independent tribunals of justice in our country, are the security of private rights, and the best bulwark against arbitrary power. The sun is the source of light and heat. This he calls the preaching of the cross. Simean.
2. The is also used rhetorically before a noun in the singular number, to denote a species by way of distinction; a single thing representing the whole. Thee fig-tree putteth forth her green figs; the almond-tree shall flourish; the grasshopper shall be a burden.
3. In poetry, the sometimes loses the final vowel before another vowel. Th' adorning thee with so much art, Is but a barb'rous skil. Cowley.
4. The is used before adjectives in the comparative and superlative degree. The longer we continue in sin, the more difficult it is to reform. The most strenuous exertions will be used to emancipate Greece. The most we can do is to submit; the best we can do; the worst that can happen.

THE-AN'DRIC, a. [Gr. Θεος, God, and ανηρ, a man.]

Designating the union of divine and human operation in Christ, or the joint agency of the divine and human nature. Murdoch.

THE-AN'THRO-PISM, n. [Gr. Θεος and ανθρωπος.]

A state of being God and man. Coleridge.

THE'ARCH-Y, n. [Gr. Θεος, God, and αρχη, rule.]

Government by God; more commonly called Theocracy. Ch. Relig. Appeal.

THE'A-TER, or THE'A-TRE, n. [Fr. theatre; L. theatrum; Gr. θεατρον, from θεαομαι, to see.]

1. Among the ancients, an edifice in which spectacles or shows were exhibited for the amusement of spectators.
2. In modern times, a house for the exhibition of dramatic performances, as tragedies, comedies and farces; a play-1 house; comprehending the stage, the pit, the boxes, galleries and orchestra.
3. Among the Italians, an assemblage of buildings, which by a happy disposition and elevation, represents an agreeable scene to the eye. Cyc.
4. A place rising by steps or gradations like the seats of a theater- Shade above shade, a woody theater Of stateliest view. Milton.
5. A place of action or exhibition; as, the theater of the world.
6. A building for the exhibition of scholastic exercises, as at Oxford, or for other exhibitions. Anatomical theater, a hall with several rows of seats, disposed in the manner of an amphitheater, and a table turning on a pivot in the middle, for anatomical demonstrations. Cyc.

THE'A-TINS, n.

An order of regular priests in Naples, who have no property, nor do they beg, but wait for what providence sends them. They have their name from the chief of the order.

THE'A-TRAL, a.

Belonging to a theater. [Not in use.]

THE-AT'RIC, or THE-AT'RIC-AL, a.

Pertaining to a theater or to scenic representations; resembling the manner of dramatic performers; as, theatrical dress; theatrical performances; theatrical gestures.

THE-AT'RIC-AL-LY, adv.

In the manner of actors on the, stage; in a manner suiting the stage.

THEAVE, or THAVE, n.

An ewe of the first year. [Local.]

THE'BAN-YEAR, n.

In ancient chronology, the Egyptian year of 365 days and 6 hours. Bryant.

THE'CA, n. [L.]

A sheath or case.

THE'CA-PHORE, n. [Gr. θηκη, a case or cover, and φορεω, to bear or carry.]

In botany, the pedicel or stipe of an ovary when it has one, ealled also gynophore, basigynium and poclagynium. Lidley.

THEE, pron. [obj. case of Thou. contracted from Sax. thec; Cimb. thig; Francic, thec; Goth. thuk. See Thou.]

THEE, v.i. [Goth. thihan; Sax. thean.]

To thrive; to prosper. [Obs.] Chaucer.

THEFT, n. [Sax. thyfthe. See Thief.]

1. The act of stealing. In law, the private, unlawful, felonious taking of another person's goods or movables, with an intent to steal them. To constitute theft, the taking' must be in private or without the owner's knowledge, and' it must be unlawful or felonious, that is, it must he with a design to deprive the owner of his property privately and against his will. Theft differs from robbery, as the latter is violent taking from the person, and of course not private.
2. The thing stolen. Exod. xxii.

THEFT'-BOTE, n. [theft and Sax. bote, compensation.]

In law, the receiving of a man's goods again from a thief; or a compensation for them, by way of composition, and to prevent the prosecution of the thief. This in England subjects a person to a heavy fine, as by this means the punishment of the criminal is prevented.

THE'I-FORM, a.

Having the form of tea.

THEIR, a. [adj. pronom. Sax. hiora; Ice. theirra.]

1. Their has the sense of a pronominal adjective, denoting of them, or the possession of two or more; their voices; their garments; their horses; their land; their country.
2. Theirs is used as a substitute for the adjective and the noun to which it refers, and in this case, it may be the nominative to a verb. "Our land is the most extensive, but theirs is the best cultivated." Here theirs stands as the representative of their land, and is the nominative to is. Nothing but the name of zeal appears, Twixt our best actions aud the worst of theirs. Denham. In this use, theirs is not in the possessive case, for then there would be a double possessive.

THE'ISM, n. [from Gr. Θεος, God.]

The belief or acknowledgment of the existence of a God, as opposed to atheism. Theism differs from deism, for although deism implies a belief in the existence of a God, yet it signifies in modern usage a denial of revelation, which theism does not.

THE'IST, n.

One who believes in the existence of a God.