per

¹

[pur, per]

preposition

1. for each; for every.

   Membership costs ten dollars per year. This cloth is two dollars per yard.

2. by means of; by; through.

   I am sending the recipe per messenger.

3. Also according to; in accordance with.

   I delivered the box per your instructions.

   He managed to monopolize the meeting, per usual.

adverb

1. Informal.,  each; for each one.

   The charge for window-washing was five dollars per.

per-

²

1. a prefix meaning “through,” “thoroughly,” “utterly,” “very”: pervert; pervade; perfect.

2. Chemistry.,  a prefix used in the names of inorganic acids and their salts that possess the maximum amount of the element specified in the base word: percarbonic (H 2 C 2 O5 ), permanganic (HMnO4 ), persulfuric (H 2 S 2 O8 ), acids; potassium permanganate (KMnO4 ); potassium persulfate (K 2 S 2 O8 ).

per.

³

abbreviation

1. percentile.

2. period.

3. person.

Per.

⁴

abbreviation

1. Persia.

2. Persian.

per-

¹

prefix

1. through

   pervade

2. throughout

   perennial

3. away, beyond

   perfidy

4. completely, throughly

   perplex

5. (intensifier)

   perfervid

6. indicating that a chemical compound contains a high proportion of a specified element

   peroxide

   perchloride

7. indicating that a chemical element is in a higher than usual state of oxidation

   permanganate

   perchlorate

8. (not in technical usage) a variant of peroxy-

   persulphuric acid

per

²

/ pə, pɜː /

determiner

1. for every

   three pence per pound

preposition

1. (esp in some Latin phrases) by; through

2. according to

   as per specifications

3. informal,  as usual

PER

³

abbreviation

1. Professional Employment Register

Usage

Per meaning a or an or for each occurs chiefly in technical or statistical contexts: miles per gallon; work-hours per week; feet per second; gallons of beer per person per year. It is also common in sports commentary: He averaged 16 points per quarter. Per is sometimes criticized in business writing in the sense “according to” and is rare in literary writing.

Word History and Origins

Origin of per-¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “through, by, for, for each”; for

Origin of per-²

From Latin, combining form of per, and used as an intensive; per

Word History and Origins

Origin of per-¹

from Latin per through

Origin of per-²

C15: from Latin: by, for each

Example Sentences

Chiles is averaging 35.4 yards rushing per game and has run for four touchdowns.

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But the inquest heard Ms Scarff did not take too well to life at the boarding school - where fees range from £22,000 and £52,000 per year - after enrolling in August 2019.

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For one, the standard deduction is going up to $16,100 per individual, up from $15,750, and there’s an additional standard deduction for seniors over 65 of $6,000 per person.

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This most recent bull market that began in October 2022 has now managed a 147% move-up and, with the “debasement trade” now part of the zeitgeist, $6,000 per ounce by next spring is attainable, he projects.

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It can be a “moving target,” capable of changing “thousands of times per second.”

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