Integrity
/ɪnˈtɛɡrɪti/noun
The quality of being honest and morally upright, or the state of being whole and undivided.
Did you know?Integrity comes from the same Latin root as *integer*, meaning “whole” or “untouched,” so the word originally described something left complete, not morally pure.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
integritas
“wholeness, soundness, completeness; later moral uprightness”
Latin
Latin
integer
“untouched, whole, complete”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*tag-
“to touch”
14th Century
English
integrite
“wholeness, soundness, purity”
Modern English
English
integrity
“moral uprightness; completeness or unity”