confidentiality
/ˌkɑːnfɪˌdɛnʃiˈælɪti/noun
The state of keeping information private and restricted
From Latin, transmitted through English confidential (Private).
Lineage
confidential
-ity
The story
In 1830, English speakers could already describe something as confidential, but they needed a noun for the condition itself; adding -ity supplied it. The older ingredient reaches back to Latin cōnfīdentia, a word associated with trust and confiding—exactly the moment when one person leans closer and says, “This stays between us.” At first, confidential meant something like “showing private intimacy”; by 1773, it had developed the sharper modern sense of information intended to remain private. A possible French influence is also reported: English confidential may have been modeled on French confidentiel, though the Latin connection remains central. Today the word survives wherever trust needs a locked door—whether in a whispered secret, a legal agreement, or a database permission setting.
Words from the same roots
confidential · Latin, transmitted through English, ‘Private, trusted, or intended to remain undisclosed’
Derivedconfidence, confide, confidentially, confidant, confiding
-ity · English suffix, ‘Quality, state, or condition’
Derivedprivacy, secrecy, discretion, integrity, authority
Sources
- Etymonlineconfidentiality, confidential, dilemma, easter, nylon, secrecy
- Wikipediaconfidentiality
- Wiktionaryconfidentiality, confidential