dao

plural daos

1. Any of various traditional Chinese swords with a curved, single-edged blade, primarily used for slashing and chopping.

1. Chinesealternativehuman sciencesAlternative form of Tao: the way of nature and/or the ideal way to live one's life.

plural daos

1. historicaluncountableusuallySynonym of circuit: various administrative divisions of imperial and early Republican China.

   Synonyms: circuit

plural daos

1. alternativeAlternative form of dah (“Burmese knife or sword”).

plural daos

1. A sword and construction tool of the Naga people of India, which has a wooden hilt and grows wider from the narrow hilt to the wide, flat tip.

plural daos

1. Dracontomelon dao; a large tree of the family Anacardiaceae; the argus pheasant tree.
2. The hard strong wood of the dao used for veneers and cabinetwork.

plural DAOs

1. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablechemistryInitialism of de-asphalted oil, a crude oil refinery process stream.
2. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputingInitialism of disk-at-once, an optical disk recording mode.
3. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountablecomputingInitialism of data access object, a design pattern.
4. abbreviationcountableinitialismuncountableengineeringInitialism of double action only, a trigger mechanism for revolving cylinder and semi-automatic firearms.
5. abbreviationacronymcountableuncountableWeb3businessAcronym of decentralized autonomous organization, an autonomous entity based on smart contracts on a blockchain.

   DAOs, which have been described as “financial flash mobs” or “group chats with bank accounts,” are among the fastest-growing parts of the crypto ecosystem.

   2022 March 2, Erin Woo, Kevin Roose, “This Social Club Runs On Crypto Tokens and Vibes”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2022

   4 more examples

   As the name suggests, DAOs are autonomous entities that subsist independently from any legal or moral entity. After they have been created and deployed onto the internet, they no longer need (nor heed) their creators.

   2014 March 8, Primavera De Filippi, “Tomorrow's Apps Will Come From Brilliant (And Risky) Bitcoin Code”, in Wired, →ISSN

   Humans aren't in charge, they are on the edges. AI is what makes the decisions and the DAO maintains itself. DAOs aren't just defined by having AI make all the decisions, they also have their own internal capital.

   2016, Siraj Raval, Decentralized Applications, O'Reilly Media, →ISBN

   But with the mayor’s backing, Mr. Nelson is planning to establish a trust fund that would serve as the basis of the DAO. “I’m dreaming,” he said. “Two Harbors could turn into Disneyland.”

   2022 January 25, David Yaffe-Bellany, “The Rise of the Crypto Mayors”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2022

   This enhances the collective understanding of how DAOs function and thrive, breaking down barriers that can hinder effective participation and innovation. […] By providing detailed descriptions and relationships between different patterns, we offer actionable insights that can be adapted and applied to various DAO contexts.

   2024 July 10, “ICDevs.org DAOs Project v0.0.2”, in ICDevs.org, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2025, page 7

1. abbreviationinitialismslanglifestyleInitialism of Dragon Age: Origins.

   Synonyms: DA1

1. Chinesealternativehuman sciencesAlternative form of Tao (“the way of nature, or ideal way to live one's life”).

1. abbreviationanatomyAbbreviation of descending aorta.