Tao Te Ching (dou? d?? ch?ng?, tou? t?? ch?ng?)n. A Chinese text written in the first millennium bc, traditionally ascribed to Lao Tzu and setting forth the philosophical tenets of Taoism. [Mandarin Dàodéj?ngliterally, “Classic of the Virtues of the Way”), from Early Middle Chinese daw’ t?k k?j? : daw’, road, way, Tao; see Tao + t?k, strength of character, virtue (from Old Chinese) + k?j?, to pass through, warp (of a fabric), rule, standard, classic text (from Old Chinese *kê?).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.