Etymograph

English

integument

Integument comes from Latin integumentum ‘a covering’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-1‘to cover’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegō1‘to cover’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegō1‘to cover’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintegō2as integere‘to cover’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintegumentum3‘a covering’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1911integument3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin intego
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin integumentum
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English integument
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: “The power of turning into an animal has this…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)teg-Wiktionary, Latin intego‘to cover’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tegōWiktionary, Latin intego‘to cover’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtegōWiktionary, Latin intego‘to cover’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintegōWiktionary, Latin integumentumas integere‘to cover’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintegumentumWiktionary, English integument‘a covering’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1911integumentWiktionary, English integument. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: “The power of turning into an animal has this…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg- ‘to cover’

tile, thug, sauna, thatch, staccato, toque, 26 more

through Latin tegō ‘to cover’

detective, detection, detect, toga, 9 more

Today it means

noun A shell or other outer protective layer.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “integument”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin intego, Latin integumentum. 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 *(s)teg- / integument

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