51³Ô¹Ï

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View synonyms for

per

1

[ pur; unstressed 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,†“veryâ€: 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 O 5 ), permanganic (HMnO 4 ), persulfuric (H 2 S 2 O 8 ), acids; potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ); potassium persulfate (K 2 S 2 O 8 ).

per.

3

abbreviation for

  1. percentile.
  2. period.
  3. person.

Per.

4

abbreviation for

  1. Persia.
  2. Persian.

per

1

/ pÉ™; pÉœË /

determiner

  1. for every

    three pence per pound

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

preposition

  1. (esp in some Latin phrases) by; through
  2. as per
    according to

    as per specifications

  3. as per usual informal.
    as usual
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

PER

2

abbreviation for

  1. Professional Employment Register
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

per-

3

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

    perchlorate

    permanganate

  8. not in technical usage a variant of peroxy-

    persulphuric acid

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Usage Note

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.
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of per1

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “through, by, for, for eachâ€; for

Origin of per2

From Latin, combining form of per, and used as an intensive; per
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of per1

C15: from Latin: by, for each

Origin of per2

from Latin per through

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