entry
integrity
/ɪnˈtɛɡrəti/Moral wholeness, honesty, and unimpaired completeness
From Latin integer (whole).
from Latin integritās (“soundness, integrity”)
from Old French integrité and directly
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin integritās (“soundness, integrity”)
from Old French integrité and directly
+1 more sourcePicture a Roman object that has never been cracked, bent, or handled: that was integer, “untouched” and whole. Latin turned that physical condition into integritās, a word for soundness and completeness—and then, rather daringly, for moral purity as well. French carried it across as intégrité, and English had it by about 1400, first meaning innocence, chastity, and blamelessness before its modern ethical sense settled in during the 1540s. The same family also produced entire and entirety, so integrity is, at heart, “entireness” applied to a person’s character. To have integrity is therefore not merely to tell the truth; it is to remain whole when temptation tries to chip pieces off.
The Story
Picture a Roman object that has never been cracked, bent, or handled: that was integer, “untouched” and whole. Latin turned that physical condition into integritās, a word for soundness and completeness—and then, rather daringly, for moral purity as well. French carried it across as intégrité, and English had it by about 1400, first meaning innocence, chastity, and blamelessness before its modern ethical sense settled in during the 1540s. The same family also produced entire and entirety, so integrity is, at heart, “entireness” applied to a person’s character. To have integrity is therefore not merely to tell the truth; it is to remain whole when temptation tries to chip pieces off.
Modern Usage
Doing the right thing even when nobody is watching
Kin & Kindred
From 'integer'·whole, complete, untouched; figuratively untainted or upright
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary