Etymograph

English

intact

Intact comes from Middle French intact, from Latin intactus ‘untouched, intact, unharmed’, and ultimately from tāctus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtāctus1
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintactus2as intact(us)‘untouched, intact, unharmed’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600intact2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1975intact2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin intactus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English intact
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1975, Clifford Green: “She hadn't been... molested? No, no, nothing like that.…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtāctusWiktionary, Latin intactus
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintactusWiktionary, English intactas intact(us)‘untouched, intact, unharmed’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600intactWiktionary, English intact
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1975intactWiktionary, English intact. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1975, Clifford Green: “She hadn't been... molested? No, no, nothing like that.…”

Every English word from Latin tāctus

Today it means

adj Left complete or whole; not touched, defiled, sullied, or otherwise damaged.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “intact”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin intactus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin tāctus / intact

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