intact English · revision 10658

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1450|origins=la intactus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɪnˈtækt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|intāctus|t=untouched, unhurt, undefiled]], possibly through Middle French intact,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from in-, not, and tāctus, past participle of tangere, to touch (see [[tangent]] and [[tact]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Untouched, unimpaired, whole: about 1450 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) before 1500 in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Latin word also meant chaste and unsubdued,^(Etymonline) and in English intact can still mean having the hymen unbroken, or of an animal not castrated.^(AHD) ''Intactness'' is from 1890.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1450 – untouched, unimpaired.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1890 – intactness.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not damaged or impaired; [[whole]] and complete.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Having all its physical parts; not castrated, or with the hymen unbroken.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[intactly]]

+ * [[intactness]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tact]]

+ * [[tangent]]

+ * [[contact]]

+ * [[intangible]]

+ * [[entire]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}