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.

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

Like a curious small child, Tao Tao appearsinterested in the blue notebook—or maybe he’s just squirming to get away!

Read more on Literature

In the first two seasons, Usagi had been grappling with the death of her mountain climber father, and actress Tao Tsuchiya feels that underlying pain could be a point of a connection.

Read more on Salon

But businesswoman Tao Baker, who has submitted plans to transfer the centre over to community ownership, believes a sale would be "short-sighted".

Read more on BBC

"We want to help people be more accepting of our culture and to correct the idea that Chinese cuisine is 'lousy'," Mr Tao says.

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But Tao said that he was more distressed by the freezing of a $25-million grant for UCLA’s Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics.

Read more on Los Angeles Times