Integer
nounA whole number, positive, negative, or zero, with no fractional or decimal part.
How to spell integer
7 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce integer
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does integer mean?
- nounA whole number, positive, negative, or zero, with no fractional or decimal part.
Integer in a sentence
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The program rejected the entry because the quantity field accepts only an integer.
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To count the people in the room you need an integer, never a fraction.
Where does integer come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word comes straight from the Latin integer, an adjective meaning 'whole', 'intact', or 'untouched'. It was built from in-, meaning 'not', joined to a form of the verb tangere, meaning 'to touch', so the literal sense was 'not touched' and therefore 'undivided'. Mathematicians of the 1500s and 1600s adopted it in English to name a number that is complete in itself, with no fraction attached. The very same Latin root gives us 'intact' (still whole) and 'integrity' (a wholeness of character), and even 'entire' descends from the same source through Old French. Knowing that the word means 'whole and untouched' explains why it keeps the plain Latin ending -er rather than anything softer, and why the middle vowel is the quiet 'e' of teg- rather than an 'a'.
How the word is built
- in- (not)
- teg- (touch, from tangere)
- -er (forming the adjective/noun): literally 'untouched, whole'
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