道
- road, path, way;
- method, doctrine, principle;
- to lead, to guide;
Etymology
辵 (辶) – “to walk; to go slowly” – provides the meaning;
首 (head) – serves as the phonetic element and also contributes to the meaning of leading or guiding.
In oracle bone script (甲骨文) and bronze inscriptions (金文 jinwen), the character resembled a head (首) combined with the “walking” radical, showing the idea of leading the way.
Over time, the form standardized in clerical script (隸書) into the structure we see today.
Usage in Korean
Used in everyday words like 道路 (roadway), 道德 (morality), 道歉 (apology).
Words that derived from 道
- 강원도(江原道)–Gangwon-do Province
- 검도(劍道)–kendo
- 경상도(慶尙道)–Gyeongsang-do Province
- 고속 도로(高速道路)–expressway; freeway
- 궤도(軌道)–track; orbit
- 기도(氣道)–airway
- 대도(大道)–great principle
- 도덕(道德)–ethics; morals
- 도리(道理)–obligation; duty; method; measure
- 도의(道義)–moral principles
- 도인(道人)–believer
- 도장(道場)–training hall; drill hall
- 보도하다(報道하다)–report
- 복도(複道)–corridor; hallway
- 부도덕(不道德)–being immoral; being unethical
- 수도꼭지(水道꼭지)–faucet
- 수도원(修道院)–abbey
- 인도주의(人道主義)–humanitarianism; humanity
- 전도(傳道)–promotion; propagation
- 전라남도(全羅南道)–Jeollanam-do Province
- 정도(正道)–right way
- 지하도(地下道)–underground tunnel
- 철도(鐵道)–rail; railroad
- 충청도(忠淸道)–Chungcheong-do Province
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