per

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of per in English

English Online Dictionary. What means per‎? What does per mean?

Translingual

Symbol

per

(international standards) ISO 639-2/B language code for Persian.

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pɜː(ɹ)/
(General American) IPA^(key): /pɝ/
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)
Homophone: purr

Etymology 1

From Latin per (“through, during”), from Proto-Indo-European *per. Doublet of par.

Preposition

per

For each.
To each, in each (used in expressing ratios of units).
(medicine) By the, by means of the, via the, through the.
In accordance with, as per

Usage notes

In senses equivalent to "each", per is typically followed by a singular noun phrase with no determiner.
Take one pill per day, not *Take one pill per a day.
The common exception is its use with plural noun phrases, although these are almost always limited to large round numbers such as 100, 1,000, 10,000...
The abortion rate in the U.S. has dropped since 1980 from nearly 30 per 1,000 women of childbearing age to less than 20.
In medical senses, per is followed by the name of an orifice in Latin rather than English (for example, per os, per rectum, per vaginam); in the postwar era there has been a continual shift toward preferring an English equivalent, especially for patients as audience but also even for fellow professionals (as medical literature audience): by mouth or orally, rectally, vaginally. (More at Wikipedia at plain language.)

Synonyms

(abbreviation) p, p., /, ⅌ UTF-16 0x214C, introduced in Unicode 4.1.0 (March 2005)
an, a

Derived terms

Related terms

per- (as in perfect, perfection and perplex)

Translations

Etymology 2

Shortening of person, coined by Marge Piercy in Woman on the Edge of Time (1979)

Pronoun

per (third-person singular, gender-neutral, nominative case, accusative per, possessive adjective pers, possessive noun pers, reflexive perself)

(rare, nonstandard) They (singular). Gender-neutral neologistic third-person singular subject pronoun, coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
(rare, nonstandard) Them (singular) Neologistic gender-neutral third-person singular object pronoun, suggested for use in place of him and her.

Synonyms

(singular) they
ey, e, sie, shi, ze

Hyponyms

(as subject): he, she
(as object): him, her

Derived terms

perself

Adjective

per (not comparable)

(rare, nonstandard) Belonging to per, their (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular possessive adjective, coordinate with gendered his and her.

Synonyms

(singular) their
eir, hir

Hyponyms

his, her

Derived terms

pers

Anagrams

EPR, ERP, RPE, Rep, Rep., pre, pre-, rep

Aragonese

Etymology

Inherited from Navarro-Aragonese per, from Latin per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpe(ɾ)/
Rhymes: -e(ɾ)
Syllabification: per

Preposition

per

through, via: used in indicating the medium through which passage occurs
at, during, in: used in indicating the time at which an event occurs
during, for: used in indicating the duration of time for which an event occurs
because, because of: used in indicating the reason an action was undertaken
by: used in indicating the agent responsible for an action
for each; for every
a, for, per: used in indicating a rate of exchange

Usage notes

In eastern dialects, when the preposition per is followed by a masculine definite article, el sg, els pl or los pl, it is contracted with it to the forms pel sg or pels pl respectively.

Alternative forms

por (western dialects)

Aromanian

Alternative forms

peru

Etymology 1

From Latin pilus. Compare Romanian păr.

Noun

per m (plural peri)

hair

Related terms

piros

Etymology 2

From Latin pirus. Compare Romanian păr.

Noun

per m (plural peri)

pear tree

Related terms

pearã

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin per.

Preposition

per

through, out (through somewhere)
by means of, by way of, by, via
for, during (a period of time)
per, each

Derived terms

Breton

Etymology 1

From Middle Breton per, from Proto-Brythonic *per, a borrowing from Latin pira, plural of pirum. Cognate with Cornish per, Welsh pêr.

Noun

per f (singulative perenn)

pears

Derived terms

gwez-per
per-douar
pereg
perenn
perenneg
perennek
perid
sistr per

Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *kʷaryos. Compare Cornish per, Welsh pair.

Noun

per m (plural perioù)

cauldron

Related terms

chaoudouron
kaoter
pothouarn

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan per, from Latin per, appropriating the senses of Latin prō as well.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [pər]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [per]

Preposition

per

through, via: used in indicating the medium through which passage occurs
at, during, in: used in indicating the time at which an event occurs
during, for: used in indicating the duration of time for which an event occurs
because, because of: used in indicating the reason an action was undertaken
(when followed by a verbal noun) used in indicating the activity one intends to do because of an action
by: used in indicating the agent responsible for an action
for each; for every
a, for, per: used in indicating a rate of exchange

Usage notes

When the preposition per is followed by a masculine definite article, el sg or els pl, it is contracted with it to the forms pel sg or pels pl respectively. If el would be elided to the form l’ because it is before a word beginning with a vowel, the elision to per l’ takes precedence over contracting to pel.

Derived terms

Cimbrian

Etymology 1

From Middle High German bër, from Old High German bero, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”). Cognate with German Bär, English bear.

Noun

per m

(Luserna) bear

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Etymology 2

From Middle High German ber, from Old High German beri, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją (“berry”). Cognate with German Beere, English berry.

Noun

per n (plural pern)

(Luserna) berry

Derived terms

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Cornish

Etymology

From Middle Cornish per, from Proto-Brythonic *per, a borrowing from Latin pira, plural of pirum. Cognate with Breton per, Welsh pêr.

Noun

per f (singulative peren)

pears

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈpɛr]

Etymology 1

Noun

per

genitive plural of pero

Etymology 2

Verb

per

second-person singular imperative of prát

Danish

Preposition

per (abbreviated pr.)

For each; for every

Dutch

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɛr

Preposition

per

for each; for every; per
by means of

Derived terms

per abuis
per ongeluk
per omgaande

Anagrams

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [per]
Hyphenation: per

Preposition

per

by means of, with
Li skribis per plumo. ― He wrote with a pen.

Finnish

Etymology

From Latin per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈper/, [ˈpe̞r]
Rhymes: -er
Hyphenation^(key): per

Preposition

per [with nominative]

per (for each, to each)
Synonyms: kohden, kohti, (ablative case) -lta

viisi euroa per metri ― five euros per metre
(business, accounting) per (indicating date, due date, date of maturity, etc.)
Laskumme 1 000 e per 15.6. ― Our invoice for Eur 1,000 due on 15 June

Tilin saldo per 31.12. ― Account balance on 31 December

German

Pronunciation

Preposition

per [with accusative or dative]

per, via, by, in acccordance with
per Gesetz ― according to the law

Usage notes

per is followed by a noun in either the accusative or dative case. No semantic distinction is made between the cases here. Examples from Duden: per ersten / erstem Januar, "as of the first of January"; per eingeschriebenen / eingeschriebenem Brief, "by registered letter".

References

“per” in Duden online
“per” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈpɛr]
Hyphenation: per
Rhymes: -ɛr

Etymology 1

Back-formation from perel.

Alternative forms

pör (dialectal)

Noun

per (plural perek)

(law) action, suit, lawsuit
Synonyms: eljárás, kereset

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Latin per (“through”).

Adverb

per

per
kilométer per óra ― kilometers per hour
(mathematics) divided by
3/5, három per öt ― 3:5, three divided by five

Derived terms

perjel

References

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Esperanto per, English per, French par, Italian per, Spanish por, ultimately from Latin per, from Proto-Indo-European *per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /per/, /pɛɾ/

Preposition

per

by means of, by, with (some means)
Ilu batis me per bastono. ― He beat me with a stick.
(mathematics) multiplied by, times
Quar per kin esas duadek. ― Four times five is twenty.

Un per un esas un. ― One times one is one.

Derived terms

per ke (“through the fact that”)

Indonesian

Alternative forms

pir (nonstandard)

Etymology 1

From Dutch veer (“feather, spring”), a contraction of veder, from Middle Dutch vedere, from Old Dutch fethara, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”). The sense "spring" is derived from the ability of feathers to resume their shape when bent.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈpɛr]
Hyphenation: pèr

Noun

pèr (plural per-per)

spring, a mechanical device made of flexible or coiled material that exerts force and attempts to spring back when bent, compressed, or stretched.
Synonym: pegas
(colloquial) arc lamp.
Synonyms: bohlam, bola lampu listrik, lampu busur

Derived terms

Compounds

Etymology 2

From Dutch per, from Latin per (“through, during”), from Proto-Indo-European *per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈpər]
Hyphenation: pêr

Preposition

pêr

per,
1. for each.
  Synonym: tiap
2. to each, in each (used in expressing ratios of units).
  Synonyms: bagi, demi
3. by the, by means of the, via the, through the.
  Synonym: dengan
since
Synonyms: mulai, sejak

Interlingua

Etymology

From Latin per, which is the predecessor of French par, Italian per, Spanish par and Spanish pro.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /per/

Preposition

per

through, during, throughout
by (the agency of), through, by means of
per, for each

Italian

Etymology

From Latin per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /per/
Rhymes: -er
Hyphenation: per

Preposition

per

for
Ma io l'ho fatto per te! ― But I did it for you!

Te lo vendo per appena trecento euro ― I'll sell it you for only three hundred euro

Ho studiato per tre ore ― I studied for three hours

Questo è il treno per Londra ― This is the train for London
to (indicates direction)
through
Sono passato per il centro ― I passed through the center
in or on
Camminava ansiosamente per la stanza ― He was pacing anxiously about the room
by
Te lo invio per posta ― I'll send it to you by post
with
as

Usage notes

When followed by the definite article, per can be combined with the article to give the following combined forms (old-fashioned, very rarely used, except for pel, pei):

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

pre-

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin per.

Preposition

per

for
through
in or on
by
with
as

Latin

Alternative forms

ꝑ (Mediaeval sigil)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *per, from Proto-Indo-European *per-. Cognates include Ancient Greek περί (perí), Sanskrit परि (pári), Lithuanian per, Albanian për and English for.

The accusative is from the pre-PIE directional.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /per/, [pɛr]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /per/, [pɛr]

Preposition

per (+ accusative)

through, by means of
throughout, during

Derived terms

Descendants

Eastern Romance:
- Aromanian: pri, pi, pre
- Romanian: pre, pe, pă, pi
Istriot: par
Italo-Romance:
- Italian: per
- Neapolitan: pe, ppe
- Sicilian: pi, pri, pir
Franco-Provençal: per
Old Leonese:
- Asturian: per
Old Occitan:
- Catalan: per
- Occitan: per, par
Navarro-Aragonese: per
- Aragonese: per
Old French: par
- Middle French: par
  - French: par
    - → English: par
- Lorrain: poir
- Picard: per
Old Galician-Portuguese: per
- Portuguese: per
Old Spanish:
- Spanish: par
Rhaeto-Romance:
- Friulian: par
- Ladin: per
Venetan: par
→ Danish: per
→ Dutch: per
→ English: per
→ Finnish: per
→ German: per
→ Hungarian: per
→ Norwegian: per
→ Swedish: per
→ Esperanto: per
- Ido: per

References

“per”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“per”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
per in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[4], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Latvian

Verb

per

inflection of pērt:
1. second/third-person singular present indicative
2. third-person plural present indicative
3. second-person singular imperative
(with the particle lai) third-person singular imperative of pērt
(with the particle lai) third-person plural imperative of pērt

Lithuanian

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *per, from Proto-Indo-European *per-. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *per-, Ancient Greek περί (perí), Sanskrit परि (pári), Latin per, and English for.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [pʲɛr]

Preposition

per (with accusative)

through
during

References

Megleno-Romanian

Etymology

From Latin pilus. Compare Aromanian per, Romanian păr.

Noun

per m

hair

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English pere, peru.

Noun

per

Alternative form of pere (“pear”)

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin pera.

Noun

per

Alternative form of pere (“bridge pillar”)

Etymology 3

From Old French per.

Noun

per

Alternative form of pere (“peer”)

Adjective

per

Alternative form of pere (“equal”)

Mòcheno

Etymology 1

From Middle High German bër, from Old High German bero, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”). Cognate with German Bär, English bear.

Noun

per m

bear

Etymology 2

From Middle High German ber, from Old High German beri, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją (“berry”). Cognate with German Beere, English berry.

Noun

per n

berry

Derived terms

himper
schbòrzper
eaper

References

“per” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin per (related to native for).

Preposition

per (abbreviated pr.)

For each, for every, per.
Motoren roterer 1000 ganger per minutt. ― The engine rotates 1000 times per minute.

per porsjon ― for each portion

per dag ― per day

Synonyms

(for each): for hver, i, om

Derived terms

per stykk

References

“per” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin per (related to native for).

Preposition

per (abbreviated pr.)

For each, for every, per.
per porsjon ― for each portion

per dag ― per day

Derived terms

per stykk

References

“per” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin per, from Proto-Italic *per, from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈpɛr/
Rhymes: -ɛr
Syllabification: per

Preposition

per

(literary) forms adverbs from nouns [with nominative]
Synonym: na

Romani

Alternative forms

pir, poriá

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Armenian փոր (pʻor, “belly, abdomen”). Doublet of pori.

Noun

per f (plural pera)

(anatomy) abdomen, belly

Derived terms

References

Ačaṙean, Hračʻeay (1971–1979) “փոր”, in Hayerēn armatakan baṙaran [Armenian Etymological Dictionary] (in Armenian), 2nd edition, a reprint of the original 1926–1935 seven-volume edition, Yerevan: University Press
Paspati, Alexandre G. (1870) “per”, in Études sur les Tchinghianés; ou, Bohémiens de l'Empire ottoman (in French), Constantinople: Impr. A. Koroméla, page 422

Sardinian

Etymology

From Latin per.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /per/

Preposition

per

per, by, through

Swedish

Alternative forms

pr (dated)

Pronunciation

Preposition

per

For each; for every

Anagrams

Volapük

Noun

per (nominative plural pers)

loss

Declension

Derived terms

peräd
perot
perön

Zazaki

Noun

per

page

per

per

Translingual

Symbol

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Preposition

Usage notes

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Pronoun

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Adjective

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

See also

Anagrams

Aragonese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Preposition

Usage notes

Alternative forms

Further reading

Aromanian

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Noun

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Related terms

Asturian

Etymology

Preposition

Derived terms

Breton

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Related terms

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Preposition

Usage notes

Derived terms

Further reading

Cimbrian

Etymology 1

Noun

References

Etymology 2

Noun

Derived terms

References

Cornish

Etymology

Noun

Czech

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Verb

Danish

Preposition

Dutch

Pronunciation

Preposition

Derived terms