integrity | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

17 entries found.

c. 1400, integrite, "innocence, blamelessness; chastity, purity," from Old French integrité and directly from Latin integritatem (nominative integritas) "soundness, wholeness, completeness," figuratively "purity, correctness, blamelessness," from integer "whole" (see integer).

The sense of "wholeness, perfect condition" is attested from mid-15c.; that of "soundness of moral principle and character; entire uprightness or fidelity, especially in regard to truth and fair dealing" is by 1540s.

*tag-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to touch, handle," with figurative extensions ("border on; taste, partake of; strike, hit; affect, impress; trick, cheat; mention, speak of").

It forms all or part of: attain; contact; contaminate; entire; intact; integer; integrate; integrity; noli me tangere; tact; tactics; tactile; tangent; tangible; task; taste; tax; taxis.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin tangere "to touch," taxare "to touch, assess," tactus "touch," integer "intact, whole, complete, perfect; honest;" Greek tassein "to arrange," tetagon "having seized;" Old English þaccian "stroke, strike gently."

entirety (n.)

"wholeness, completeness, state of being entire or whole," also entierty, mid-14c., enterete, intierty, from Anglo-French entiertie, Old French entiereté "totality, entirety; integrity, purity," from Latin integritatem (nominative integritas) "completeness, soundness, integrity," from integer (see integer).

probity (n.)

"tried virtue or integrity, strict honesty," early 15c., probite, from Old French probité, from Latin probitatem (nominative probitas) "uprightness, honesty," from probus "worthy, good" (see prove).

improbity (n.)

"want of integrity," 1590s, from Latin improbitas "badness, dishonesty," from assimilated form of in- "not" (see in- (1)) + probitas "uprightness, honesty," from probus "worthy, good" (see prove).

shaky (adj.)

1840, of handwriting; 1841 of persons, horses, and credit; 1850 of structures; from shake (v.) + -y (2). General sense of "uncertain, of questionable integrity" is from 1834. Earliest of trees or logs, "split, having fissures" (1808). Related: Shakily; shakiness.

rightness (n.)

"state or character of being right" in any sense, Old English rehtnisse, rihtnesse "uprightness, integrity," also the fact of being straight; see right (adj.1) + -ness. From 1560s as "correctness, accuracy."

innocence (n.)

mid-14c., "freedom from guilt or moral wrong," from Old French inocence "innocence; purity, chastity" (12c., Modern French innocence), from Latin innocentia "blamelessness, uprightness, integrity," from innocens "harmless; blameless; disinterested" (see innocent). Meaning "lacking in guile or artifice," as of childhood, is from late 14c. Meaning "freedom from legal wrong" is from 1550s.

dishonesty (n.)

late 14c., "disgrace, shame, want of honor," from Old French deshonesté (13c., Modern French deshonnéteté) "dishonor, impropriety," from des- (see dis-) + Latin honestatem (nominative honestas) "honorableness," from honestus "honorable; deserving honor, respectable," from honos "honor, dignity, office, reputation," which is of unknown origin. Meaning "want of honesty, lack of integrity," the main modern sense, is recorded from 1590s.

dismember (v.)

c. 1300, dismembren, "to cut off the limbs of," also figuratively "to scatter, disperse, divide into parts or sections so as to destroy the integrity," from Old French desmembrer (11c., Modern French démembrer), from Medieval Latin dismembrare "tear limb from limb; castrate," from Latin de "take away" (see de-) + membrum "limb" (see member). Related: Dismembered; dismembering.

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