Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Taoism” come from?

Taoism derives from English Tao combined with Ancient Greek -ισμός, from Ancient Greek -μός, from Proto-Indo-European -mós, a suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a state or condition.

Taoism (English): A Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally...

Definitions

  1. A Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally...

Ancestry of “Taoism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchtaoïsmeTaoism
2French-ïsme-ism, variant of -isme following vowels
3Latin-ismaAlternative form of -ismus; -ism
4Latin-ismus-ism
5Ancient Greek-ισμόςForms abstract nouns
6Ancient Greek-μόςForms abstract nouns
7Proto-Indo-European-mósCreates action/result nouns from verb stems
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mós →