De, often translated virtue, means the inner power or efficacy by which a thing is what it is, and the charisma of the person in accord with the Way. The Daodejing is the classic of the Dao and its De. Confucians used De for moral virtue that wins others without force.
De
Virtue or power: the potency of the Dao as it is realized in things and in the sage.
Also: Te, virtue