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Victor H. Mair proposes a Proto-Indo-European etymology for de.
Te was pronounced approximately dugh during the early Chou period (about 1100 to 600 B.C.). The meanings it conveys in texts from that era are "character," "[good or bad] intentions," "quality," "disposition," "personality," "personhood," "personal strength," and "worth." There is a very close correlation between these meanings and words deriving from Proto-Indo-European dugh (to be fit, of use, proper; acceptable; achieve). And there is a whole series of words derived from the related Teutonic verbal root dugan. There are Old High German tugan, Middle High German tugen, and modern German taugen, all of which mean "to be good, fit, of use." There is another cognate group of words relating to modern English "doughty" (meaning worthy, valiant, stouthearted) that also contribute to our understanding of te. They are Middle English douhti, dohti, of dühti ("valiant"). (1990:134)
In modern Dutch, the noun "de" can be translated as "deugd"; the verb "deugen" means 'to have virtue'.
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