noun" derivation from dào "conduct", or dào is a Later Old Chinese (Warring States period) "general tone C" (qusheng "departing tone") derivation from dào "way". For a possible etymological connection, Schuessler notes the ancient Fangyan dictionary defines yu < *lokh and lu < *lu as Eastern Qi State dialectal words meaning dào < *lûʔ "road". Loanwords Many languages have borrowed and adapted Chinese dao "the way" as a loanword. In Chinese, this character is pronounced as Cantonese dou6 and Hokkian to7. In Sino-Xenic languages, is pronounced as Japanese dō, tō, or michi; Korean do or to; and Vietnamese đạo, dạo, or nhạo. Since 1982, when the International Organization for Standardization adopted Pinyin as the standard romanization of Chinese, many Western languages have changed from spelling this loanword tao in national systems (e.g., French EFEO Chinese transcription and English Wade–Giles) to dao in Pinyin. The tao/dao "the way" English word of Chinese origin has three meanings, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. 1. a. In Taoism, an absolute entity which is the source of the universe; the way in which this absolute entity functions. 1. b. = Taoism, taoist 2. In Confucianism and in extended uses, the way to be followed, the right conduct; doctrine or method. The earliest recorded usages were Tao (1736), Tau (1747), Taou (1831), and Dao (1971). A derivative, Daoshi (, "Daoist priest"), was used already by the Jesuits Matteo Ricci and Nicolas Trigault in their De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas, rendered as Tausu in the original Latin edition (1615), and Tausa in an early English translation published by Samuel Purchas (1625). See also Daoism–Taoism romanization issue Dharma Brahma Logos Fard Rta God Absolute (philosophy) Notes References Citations Sources {{cite book |last=Watts |first=Alan Wilson |title=Tao: The Watercourse Way with Al Chung-liang Huang |publisher=Pantheon |year=1977 |isbn=0-394-73311-8 }} Further reading Translation of the Tao te Ching by Derek Lin 老子 Lǎozĭ 道德經 Dàodéjīng Verbatim, Analogous, Poetic (Chinese, English, German) Translation of the Dao de Jing by James Legge Legge translation of the Tao Teh King at Project Gutenberg Feng, Gia-Fu & Jane English (translators). 1972. Laozi/Dao De Jing. New York: Vintage Books. Komjathy, Louis. Handbooks for Daoist Practice. 10 vols. Hong Kong: Yuen Yuen Institute, 2008. Mitchell, Stephen (translator). 1988. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version. New York: Harper & Row. Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997 [original French 1992]) page 14,20.