Etymograph

English

integer

Integer comes from Latin integer ‘whole’, from Proto-Italic *n̥tagros ‘untouched’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-th₂g-ró-s.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥-th₂g-ró-s1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*n̥tagros2‘untouched’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEinteger2‘whole’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1886integer2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *n̥tagros
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English integer
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, Leopold Kronecker: “God made the integers; all else is the work…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*n̥-th₂g-ró-sWiktionary, Proto-Italic *n̥tagrosreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*n̥tagrosWiktionary, English integer‘untouched’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintegerWiktionary, English integer‘whole’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1886integerWiktionary, English integer. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1886, Leopold Kronecker: “God made the integers; all else is the work…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *n̥tagros ‘untouched’

entirety, 7 more

through Latin integer ‘whole’

entire, 8 more

Today it means

noun A number that is not a fraction; an element of the infinite and numerable set {..., -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ...}.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “integer”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Italic *n̥tagros. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *n̥-th₂g-ró-s / integer

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