Per (?), prep. [L. Cf.
Far, For-, Pardon, and cf. Par, prep.]
Through; by means of; through the agency of; by; for; for each; as,
per annum; per
capita, by heads, or according to individuals; per curiam, by the court; per se, by itself, of itself. Per is also sometimes used with English words.
Per annum, by the year; in each successive year; annually. -- Per cent, Per centum, by the hundred; in the hundred; -- used esp. of
proportions of ingredients, rate
or amount of interest, and the like;
commonly used in the shortened form per cent. -- Per diem, by the day. [For other phrases from the Latin, see Quotations, Phrases,
etc., from Foreign
Languages, in the Supplement.]
Per- (?). [See Per.]
1. A
prefix used to signify through,
throughout, by, for, or as an intensive as perhaps, by hap or chance; perennial, that lasts throughout the year; perforce, through or by
force; perfoliate, perforate; perspicuous, evident throughout or very evident; perplex, literally, to entangle very much.
2. (Chem.) Originally, denoting that the element to the name of which it is prefixed in the respective compounds
exercised its highest valence; now, only that the
element has a higher valence than in other
similar compounds; thus, barium peroxide is the
highest oxide of barium; while nitrogen and manganese peroxides, so-called, are not the highest oxides of those elements.
Hear it pronounced