Etymologically
Log in

integrity

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 08:36. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/, /ɪnˈtɛɡɹɪti/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English integrite, borrowed from Old French integrité and directly integritās (“soundness, wholeness; chastity”),[2][3][4] from integer (“whole, untouched”) (see integer).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Soundness, an unimpaired or uncorrupted condition: before 1400 in Barnhart;[2] innocence or chastity, about 1400 in Etymonline.[3]

Semantic evolution

Wholeness or perfect condition is from the mid-15th century, about 1450 in the OED.[3][5] Soundness of moral principle, uprightness and honesty, is first recorded in 1548.[2][5][3] The condition of having no part missing, completeness, is from 1533.[5] The integrity of a structure or of data, its soundness, is a modern use.[6][7] Compare entirety, integral and integrate.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – soundness.[2]
  • c. 1450 – unimpaired condition.[5]
  • 1533 – completeness.[5]
  • 1548 – honesty, uprightness.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
  2. The state of being whole and undivided; unity.
  3. Soundness of structure or condition: structural integrity.

Word family

  • tensegrity
  • integrate
  • integrated
  • integer
  • integral
  • entire
  • entirety

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press