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Origin and history of integrity

integrity(n.)

c. 1400, integrite, "innocence, blamelessness; chastity, purity," from Old French integrité and directly from Latin integritatem (nominative integritas) "soundness, wholeness, completeness," figuratively "purity, correctness, blamelessness," from integer "whole" (see integer).

The sense of "wholeness, perfect condition" is attested from mid-15c.; that of "soundness of moral principle and character; entire uprightness or fidelity, especially in regard to truth and fair dealing" is by 1540s.

integrity

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to integrity

integer(n.)

"a whole number" (as opposed to a fraction), 1570s, from noun use of Latin integer (adj.) "intact, whole, complete," figuratively, "untainted, upright," literally "untouched," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + root of tangere "to touch" (from PIE root *tag- "to touch, handle"). The word was used earlier in English as an adjective in the Latin sense, "whole, entire" (c. 1500).

*tag-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to touch, handle," with figurative extensions ("border on; taste, partake of; strike, hit; affect, impress; trick, cheat; mention, speak of").

It might form all or part of: attain; contact; contaminate; entire; intact; integer; integrate; integrity; noli me tangere; tact; tactics; tactile; tangent; tangible; task; taste; tax; taxis.

It might also be the source of: Latin tangere "to touch," taxare "to touch, assess," tactus "touch," integer "intact, whole, complete, perfect; honest;" Greek tassein "to arrange," tetagon "having seized;" Old English þaccian "stroke, strike gently."

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    dishonesty
    Meaning "want of honesty, lack of integrity," the main modern sense, is recorded from 1590s....
    abstinence
    appetites," from Old French abstinance (earlier astenance), from Latin abstinentia "abstinence, starvation; self-restraint, integrity...
    honesty
    honestatem (nominative honestas) "honor received from others; reputation, character;" figuratively "uprightness, probity, integrity...
    nationality
    1690s, "separate existence as a nation, national unity and integrity," from national + -ity (in some usages perhaps from...
    Bayard
    The name later was used attributively of gentlemen of exceptional courage and integrity, in this sense from Pierre du Terrail...
    trust
    c. 1200, "reliance on the veracity, integrity, or other virtues of someone or something; religious faith," from Old Norse...
    treason
    Trahison des clercs "self-compromised integrity of intellectuals, betrayal or corruption by academics, moralists, journalists...
    taste
    c. 1300, tasten, "perceive the flavor of" (something); "take a little food or drink; try the quality or flavor of;" from Old French taster "to taste, sample by mouth; enjoy" (13c.), earlier "to feel, touch, pat, stroke" (12c., Modern French tâter), from Vulgar Latin *tastare, whi
    state
    [mode or form of existence] c. 1200, stat, "circumstances, position in society, temporary attributes of a person or thing, conditions," from Old French estat "position, condition; status, stature, station," and directly from Latin status "a station, position, place; way of standi
    fiber
    late 14c., fibre "a lobe of the liver," also "entrails," from Medieval Latin fibre, from Latin fibra "a fiber, filament; entrails," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Latin filum "a thread, string" (from PIE root *gwhi- "thread, tendon") or to Latin findere "to spli

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