Per

• POS: Definite Article, Noun, Preposition

CIDE DICTIONARY

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.  [1913 Webster]

Per annum, by the year; in each successive year; annually. -- Per cent, Per centum, per cent, by the hundred; in the hundred; a proportion multiplied by one hundred; -- used esp. of proportions of ingredients, rate or amount of interest, and the like; most commonly used in the shortened form per cent; as, 5 is ten per cent of 50. It is commonly symbolized with the per cent sign, "%". -- Per diem, by the day. [For other phrases from the Latin, see Quotations, Phrases, etc., from Foreign Languages, in the Supplement.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Per, prep.
1 for each; for every (two sweets per child; five miles per hour).
2 by means of; by; through (per post; per rail).
3 (in full as per) in accordance with (as per instructions).
4 Heraldry in the direction of.

Idiom

as per usual colloq. as usual.

Etymology

L

THESAURUS

Per

accommodated to, according to, adapted to, adjusted to, after, agreeable to, agreeably to, all, answerable to, aside, by, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of, by way of, conformable to, congruent with, consistent with, each, for each, hereby, herewith, in accordance with, in agreement with, in compliance with, in conformity with, in correspondence to, in harmony with, in keeping with, in line with, in lock-step with, in obedience to, in step with, in uniformity with, in virtue of, on, per capita, proper to, suitable for, thanks to, thereby, therewith, through, uniform with, upon, vagabond, via, whereby, wherewith, wherewithal, with

ROGET THESAURUS

Per

Instrumentality

N instrumentality, aid, subservience, subserviency, mediation, intervention, medium, intermedium, vehicle, hand, agency, minister, handmaid, midwife, accoucheur, accoucheuse, obstetrician, gobetween, cat's-paw, stepping-stone, opener, key, master key, passkey, latchkey, open sesame, passport, passe-partout, safe-conduct, password, instrument, expedient, means, instrumental, useful, ministerial, subservient, mediatorial, intermediate, intervening, conducive, through, by, per, whereby, thereby, hereby, by the agency of, by dint of, by virtue of, in virtue of, through the medium of, along with, on the shoulders of, by means of, by the aid of, with the aid of, per fas et nefas, by fair means or foul, somehow, somehow or other, by hook or by crook.