SEN no Rikyu called it 'Suki no michi' (the way of enjoying elegance), 'Cha no michi' (the art of Tea) by Enshu KOBORI, and it was eventually called sado by the beginning of the Edo period (according to "Sawa Shigetsu shu" (a collection of GENPAKU Sotan's talks about tea) and "Nanporoku" (Southern Record)).
千利休は「数寄道」、小堀遠州は「茶の道」という語も使っていたが、やがて江戸時代初期には茶道と呼ばれるようになった（『茶話指月集』『南方録』など）。