Integral

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɪntɪɡr(ə)l/

Definitions

1. Essential or necessary to make a whole complete; forming a fundamental part of something
2. Fundamentally necessary for completeness and structure
3. playing a crucial role in contributing to the entirety of an object or concept

Etymology: "Integral" comes to English from Middle French "integral," which in turn was borrowed from Medieval Latin "integrālis." Its ultimate source is the Latin adjective "integer," meaning "whole," "untouched," or "entire." That same Latin word gave English "integer," the mathematical term for a whole number, and the two words remain close relatives in both sense and shape. The Latin root points back to a notion of wholeness that has not been damaged or divided. Something "integer" was intact in the literal sense before it became a figure of speech. "Integral" carries that idea into the abstract: a part is integral when the whole could not be complete without it. Removing it would leave something lacking rather than merely smaller.

Synonyms: essential, necessary, fundamental, vital, crucial

Antonyms: inessential, unimportant, superfluous, extraneous, optional