How does the phrase "Is something the matter?" make sense?

Question

Is something the matter?

I've read or heard this usage of matter many times. For instance, in The pleasure of finding things out, R.P. Feynman writes:

I could tell that something was the matter.

This usage doesn't seem right to me. It's hard for me to pinpoint what exactly bothers me, but I think it has to do with the use of the definite article "the" when the existence of a problem hasn't even been confirmed/acknowledged yet.
I know this usage of matter is accepted by many, but how does it make logical/grammatical sense?

Instead of:

Is something the matter?

I would much prefer

Is there a problem?

Instead of

I could tell that something was the matter.

I would prefer

I could tell that there was a problem/issue.

Note that my issue is with the choice of article, not with that of the noun.

Foobie Bletch · Accepted Answer

What you're observing is a phenonmenon called lexicalization. Consider the following sentence:

What is the matter?

Here the speaker assumes that some problem exists and asks what that problem is. "The matter" means "the matter of concern"; i.e., the thing that we should be worried about.  This makes perfect sense on every level of analysis.
But through the repeated use of this expression or some similar one, the phrase "the matter" has become lexicalized into an expression of its own, carrying the sense of "something that we should be worried about". The word "the" here cannot be analyzed on its own. That would be like if you said that you were going to say something, and I asked you where you were going. Here the word "going" is relieved of its usual semantic duties in order to work a side gig as part of a lexicalized aspect marker.
Is this lexicalized usage of "the matter" logical? Not especially, but langauge doesn't need to be logical—not even formal, educated, standard language. If it intelligibly communicates its intended meaning, then, by definition, it makes sense.

Armen Ծիրունյան · Answer

The reason you're confused is because you're trying to analyze an idiom, a set phrase. the matter is a set phrase, not decomposable into its constituents. Your examples are all correct and idiomatic.

WS2 · Answer

The only thing the matter with what you are asking is the suggestion that 'problem' does the job better. The only word currently more overworked than 'problem' is 'issue'. I contacted my internet service provider recently, as something was the matter, and they came back to me asking about my 'issue'. 'I only have issues when I go to the toilet' was my reply. 'Your service isn't working, that's what's the matter with me!'

Answered by WS2 on February 19, 2021

Edwin Ashworth · Answer

Almost always, there is a logical explanation to the actual wording of an idiom. Often lost in the mists of time. I'd guess that 'Is something the matter?' is a shortened form of an expression like the logical 'Is something I can help with the matter causing you concern?' And one can research 'kick the bucket' on the web.

Sometimes, the meaning of an idiom may be opaque but the literal meaning of the words quite obvious, with standard syntax being used

kick the bucket

Sometimes, the meaning may be fairly transparent (deducible) and the literal meaning of the words quite obvious, with standard syntax being used

ship of the desert

I won't attempt to give an example of each of the 8 possible permutations, or throw in how flexible (ships of the desert? handsome ships of the desert?...) individual idioms might be, but here are some which depart from the use of standard grammar:

all of a sudden
  
  all the same
  
  at daggers drawn
  
  beyond compare
  
  curiouser and curiouser
  
  flatter to deceive
  
  long time, no see
  
  on the up and up
  
  the bigger, the better
  
  trip the light fantastic

Some may be rather more old fashioned than others, but their use seems to cause no worries for most anglophones. Some are more transparent than others (I've seen arguments about the meaning of 'flatter to deceive').

How does the phrase "Is something the matter?" make sense?

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