Full Idea
The expression 'The' turns out to play the role of a quantifier, in complete analogy with 'every' and 'a', and does not generate (in common with common noun phrases) denoting expressions
Gist of Idea
'The' is a quantifier, like 'every' and 'a', and does not result in denotation
Source
Richard Montague (English as a Formal Language [1970], p.216), quoted by Bernard Linsky - Quantification and Descriptions 4
Book Reference
'Bloomsbury Companion to Philosophical Logic', ed/tr. Horsten,L/Pettigrew,R [Bloomsbury 2014], p.100
A Reaction
Linsky says that it is now standard to interpret definite descriptions as quantifiers