Tao

¹

[ dou, tou ]

noun

, (sometimes lowercase)

1. (in philosophical Taoism) that in virtue of which all things happen or exist.
2. the rational basis of human activity or conduct.
3. a universal, regarded as an ideal attained to a greater or lesser degree by those embodying it.

Tao

²

[ tou ]

noun

1. Yami ( def ).

Tao

/ taʊ /

noun

1. that in virtue of which all things happen or exist
2. the rational basis of human conduct
3. the course of life and its relation to eternal truth

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tao¹

First recorded in 1730–40; from Chinese (Wade-Giles) Tao4, (pinyin) dào literally, “path, way, right way”

Origin of Tao²

From Tao: literally, “human being”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tao¹

Chinese, literally: path, way

Example Sentences

This time Will, who plays Tao, had seconds… but he will eat anything.”

From BBC

“Turandot” is an opera of riddles, riddled with the Tao of nothingness and strong sexual attraction that lacks communication.

From Los Angeles Times

So, Li Tao, Zhiyi Wu and colleagues wanted to design a TENG-based sensor that could be incorporated into an MRI machine to help prevent motion artifacts.

From Science Daily

“Madagascar is this wonderful natural laboratory,” said Tao Wan, a botanist at the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an author of the new study.

From New York Times

As a teenager, the Chinese artist Tao Siqi was fascinated by the words of Charles Baudelaire, the French poet who was not exactly known for imagery of sweeping landscapes and cities in the rain.

From New York Times