Welcome, lori! Thanks for launching this intriguing column...I'm sure you'll fit right in with all us Merry Wordsters!

Could integral possibly have been an adjectivized form of integrity in an earlier incarnation before it's present sematic became more firmly entrenched?

In a side note about integral...I pronounced it 'in-tri-cal for years when I was younger...and was very disappointed when I learned the truth of my error.