Etymologically
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integro

Etymology and origin of the Latin word integro

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Accius
Ultimate origin
Latin (integer)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɪn.tɛ.ɡroː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈin.te.ɡro][1]

Forms

integrō (present infinitive integrāre, perfect active integrāvī, supine integrātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from integer “untouched, whole” with the verb suffix -ō.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Accius, of restoring, and Pacuvius, of renewing.[2] Köbler dates Pacuvius 220–130 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to restore to a former state, make new, as Lucretius' rivers keeping the sea full and food renewing all things, and Tacitus' repairing, and in Cicero to refresh the mind.[2][6][7] From Pacuvius it meant to take up anew, resume, as Livy's renewed battle and Virgil's song.[2][7] It also meant to make complete.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to renew, make whole, restore, heal.[8] Its participle integrātus gave English integrate in the 1630s, and Late Latin integrātiō “renewal” gave English integration.[4]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of renewing.[2][5]
  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of restoring.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of rivers keeping the sea full.[6][5]
  • 1630s – English integrate is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To restore, renew; to refresh.[2]
  2. To resume.[2]
  3. To make whole, complete.[2]

Word family

  • deintegrō
  • integrascō
  • integrātiō
  • integrator
  • redintegrō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Integro.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/integro. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·