From Latin 'integritas' (wholeness), from 'integer' (untouched) — a person of integrity is morally whole.
The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; the state of being whole, undivided, and unimpaired.
From Middle French 'intégrité' or directly from Latin 'integritātem' (accusative of 'integritās'), meaning wholeness, completeness, soundness, purity, blameless conduct, from 'integer' (whole, complete, untouched, uninjured, sound, upright), built from 'in-' (not, un-) + the root of 'tangere' (to touch, to handle), from PIE *teh₂g- (to touch, to handle, to grasp lightly). The root *teh₂g- underlies a cluster of Latin words about contact: 'tangere' (to touch) gives 'tangent,' 'tangible,' 'contact,' 'contagious' (touching together), 'contaminate' (touching throughout), and 'tact' (the sense of touch, then skilled touching of social situations). 'Integer' literally means not-touched — uncorrupted, whole, not broken by external interference. 'Integrate' (to
The mathematical term 'integer' (a whole number) comes from the same Latin word as 'integrity.' An integer is a number that is whole, untouched, not broken into fractions. The connection is exact: just as an integer is a number without parts, a person of integrity is a moral whole — their actions, words, and beliefs are not fractured or contradictory.