Integrity
Etymology
From Latin "integritas" (soundness, wholeness), from "integer" (whole, untouched, intact) — the same "integer" that names a whole number. "Integer" itself is "in-" (not) plus a root of "tangere" (to touch): literally "untouched." So integrity’s deep sense is being undivided and unspoiled — the moral meaning grew from the physical one of intactness.
noun · /in-TEG-ruh-tee/
The quality of being morally whole and consistent — of one’s actions matching one’s stated values.
What it names
Reach for it to name not mere honesty but internal coherence: a person who is the same in the dark as in the light, whose commitments hold under pressure.
Example
The auditor’s integrity meant she flagged the discrepancy even though her own bonus depended on hiding it.
Related idea
Honesty is telling the truth to others; integrity is the larger wholeness that keeps all one’s conduct of a piece. You can be honest in a single statement but lack integrity across a life.
noun · /in-TEG-ruh-tee/
The condition of being whole, unified, and undamaged in structure.
What it names
the soundness of a physical or logical structure
Example
Engineers checked the hull’s structural integrity; data integrity ensures files aren’t corrupted.
Related idea
Same root as the moral sense — ‘wholeness’ — applied to bridges, files, and systems. Compare corruption, its opposite for data.