Integer

An integer (from the Latin integer meaning "whole") is a number that can be written without a fractional component. For example, 21, 4, 0, and −2048 are integers, while 9.75, 5 ¹⁄₂, and √2 are not.

The set of integers consists of zero (0), the natural numbers (1, 2, 3, …), also called whole numbers or counting numbers, and their additive inverses (the negative integers, i.e. −1, −2, −3, …). This is often denoted by a boldface Z ("Z") or blackboard bold (Unicode U+2124 ℤ) standing for the German word Zahlen ([ˈtsaːlən], "numbers").ℤ is a subset of the sets of rational and real numbers and, like the natural numbers, is countably infinite.

The integers form the smallest group and the smallest ring containing the natural numbers. In algebraic number theory, the integers are sometimes called rational integers to distinguish them from the more general algebraic integers. In fact, the (rational) integers are the algebraic integers that are also rational numbers.

Algebraic properties

Like the natural numbers, Z is closed under the operations of addition and multiplication, that is, the sum and product of any two integers is an integer. However, with the inclusion of the negative natural numbers, and, importantly, 0, Z (unlike the natural numbers) is also closed under subtraction. The integers form a unital ring which is the most basic one, in the following sense: for any unital ring, there is a unique ring homomorphism from the integers into this ring. This universal property, namely to be an initial object in the category of rings, characterizes the ring Z.