LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
preposition

per

per (+ accusative)
Classical[ˈpɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɛr]
№ 30 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. with accusativethrough, by means of
    Qua re per exploratores nuntiataThat event being announced by the scoutsc. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico VII.11
    per speciem honorisBy the pretext of honouring27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.3
  2. with accusativethroughout, during

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

along, through
per — in Seneca, ch. IV

per, prep. with acc. (by solecism with abl. PER QVO, =
I. whereby, Inscr. Miseni Repert. ex a. p. Chr. n. 159; Inscr. Orell. 3300) [kindr. with Gr. παρά; Sanscr. pāra, ulterior; Lith. pèr; cf.: parumper, paulisper; v. Georg Curtius Griech. Etym. p. 269], denotes, like the Gr. διά, motion through a space, or extension over it.
I. Lit., of space, through, through the midst of, throughout, all over, all along: per amoena salicta raptare aliquem, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 40 Vahl.): inde Fert sese (equus) campi per caerula laetaque prata, id. ap. Macr. S. 6, 3 (id. v. 505 ib.): per amoenam urbem leni fluit agmine flumen, id. ap. id. ib. 6, 4 (id. v. 177 ib.): per membranas oculorum cernere, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 142: coronam auream per forum ferre, id. Att. 14, 16, 2: iit hasta per tempus utrumque, Verg. A. 9, 418: se per munitiones deicere, Caes. B. G. 3, 26: per mare pauperiem fugiens, per saxa, per ignes, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 46: per ignes, Ov. M. 8, 76: per Averna, id. ib. 14, 105: per caelum, Verg. A. 4, 700: per vias fabulari, in all the streets, Plaut. Cist. 5, 1: per totam urbem, id. Ep. 2, 2, 11: qui per provincias atque imperium tuum pecunias ei credidissent, in the provinces, Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 6: invitati hospitaliter per domos, Liv. 1, 9: via secta per ambas (zonas), Verg. G. 1, 238; 245: nascuntur copiosissime in Balearibus ac per Hispanias, in, Plin. 19, 5, 30, § 94: per illas gentes celebratur, throughout, Tac. A. 12, 12: gustūs elementa per omnia quaerunt, Juv. 11, 14.— Placed after the noun: viam per, Lucr. 6, 1264: transtra per et remos et pictas abiete puppes, Verg. A. 5, 663; 6, 692.
II. Transf.
A. Of time, through, throughout, during, for: quod des bubus per hiemem, the winter through, during the winter, Cato, R. R. 25: nulla res per triennium, nisi ad nutum istius, judicata est, Cic. Verr. 1, 5, 13: nulla abs te per hos dies epistula ... venerat, during these days, id. Att. 2, 8, 1: per decem dies ludi facti sunt, id. Cat. 3, 8, 20: per idem tempus, during, at, in the course of, id. Brut. 83, 286; Suet. Galb. 10: per noctem cernuntur sidera, during the night, in the night-time, Plin. 2, 10, 7, § 48: per inducias, during, Liv. 38, 2: per multa bella, id. 8, 13: per ludos, id. 2, 18: per comitia, Suet. Caes. 80: per somnum, id. ib. 45: per tempus, during, i. e. at the right time, = in tempore, Plaut. Poen. 1, 1, 6; Ter. And. 4, 4, 44; id. Hec. 4, 3, 16.—So distr.: per singulas noctes, Suet. Caes. 1; id. Calig. 22; cf.: per haec, meanwhile, id. Claud. 27: per quae, id. Tib. 52.—
B. To indicate the agent, instrument, or means, through, by, by means of: statuerunt injurias per vos ulcisci, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 3, § 9: detrimenta publicis rebus per homines eloquentissimos importata, id. de Or. 1, 9, 38: quid ais? vulgo occidebantur? Per quos? et a quibus? by whom? and by whose command? id. Rosc. Am. 29, 80: quae domi gerenda sunt, ea per Caeciliam transiguntur, id. ib. 51, 149: quod nefarium stuprum non per illum factum est, id. Cat. 2, 4, 7.—Placed after its case: Exerce vocem, quam per vivis et colis, Plaut. Poen. prol. 13.—Esp.: per fidem decipere, fallere, etc. (= datā fide): per fidem deceptus sum, through confidence, i. e. in my host who betrayed me, Plaut. Most. 2, 2, 69; Cic. Inv. 1, 39, 71; Caes. B. G. 1, 46, 3.—So, per se, per te, through himself, by himself, of himself, etc.: homo per se cognitus, sine ullā commendatione majorum, Cic. Brut. 25, 96: per me tibi obstiti, = solus, by myself, id. Cat. 1, 5, 11: satis per te tibi consulis, Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 1: per se solus, Liv. 1, 49.—With ipse: nihil ipsos per se sine P. Sullā facere potuisse, Cic. Sull. 24, 67: ipsum per se, suā vi, sua naturā, sua sponte laudabile, id. Fin. 2, 15, 50.—To form an adverb. expression, in, by, through, etc.: non dubitavi id a te per litteras petere, by letter, Cic. Fam. 2, 6, 2: per summum dedecus vitam amittere, in the most infamous manner, most infamously, id. Rosc. Am. 11, 30: per iram facere aliquid, in anger, id. Tusc. 4, 37, 79: per commodum, Liv. 30, 29, 3 (cf. II. A. supra): per commodum rei publicae, id. 10, 25, 17; 22, 57, 1; 31, 11, 2: per ludum et jocum, sporting and jesting, in sport and jest, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 60, § 155; cf. id. ib. 2, 5, 70, § 181: per vim, forcibly, Sall. J. 23, 1: per dolum, id. ib. 11, 8: per otium, at leisure, Liv. 4, 58, 12: ceteris copiis per otium trajectis, id. 21, 28, 4: cibo per otium capto, id. 21, 55, 1: per tumultum = tumultuose, id. 44, 45, 14. —
C. To designate the reason, cause, inducement, etc., through, for, by, on account of, for the sake of: per metum mussari, Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 12: qui per virtutem perit, at non interit, id. Capt. 3, 5, 32: cum antea per aetatem nondum hujus auctoritatem loci attingere auderem, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 1, 1: per aetatem, Caes. B. G. 2, 16 fin.: Druso propinquanti quasi per officium obviae fuere legiones, Tac. A. 1, 24: ut nihil eum delectaret, quod aut per naturam fas esset aut per leges liceret, Cic. Mil. 16, 43: cum per valetudinem posses, venire tamen noluisti, id. Fam. 7, 1, 1: per me, per te, etc., as far as concerns me, you, etc.: si per vos licet, Plaut. As. prol. 12: per me vel stertas licet, Cic. Ac. 2, 29, 93; cf.: sin hoc non licet per Cratippum, id. Off. 3, 7, 33: fides publica per sese inviolata, Sall. J. 33, 3: per me ista pedibus trahantur, Cic. Att. 4, 16, 10: per me stetisse, quo minus hae fierent nuptiae, Ter. And. 4, 2, 16: si per suos esset licitum, Nep. Eum. 10, 3: inspicere vitia nec per magistros nec per aetatem licebat, Macr. S. 1, 24. —Hence, in oaths, entreaties, asseverations, etc., by a god, by men, or by inanimate or abstract things, by: IOVRANTO PER IOVEM, etc., Tab. Bant. lin. 15: per pol saepe peccas, Plaut. Cas. 2, 6, 18; cf.: si per plures deos juret, Cic. Rab. Post. 13, 36: quid est enim, per deos, optabilius sapientiā? id. Off. 2, 2, 5: per deos atque homines, id. Div. 2, 55, 116: per dexteram te istam oro, id. Deiot. 3, 8; cf.: per tuam fidem Te obtestor, Ter. And. 1, 5, 55: nunc te per amicitiam et per amorem obsecro, id. ib. 2, 1, 26: per pietatem! Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 4: per comitatem edepol, pater, etc., id. ib. 2, 2, 52.—In this signif. often separated from its object: per ego vobis deos atque homines dies, ut, etc., Plaut. Men. 5, 7, 1: per ego te deos oro, Ter. And. 3, 3, 6; 5, 1, 15: per ego te, fili ... precor quaesoque, etc., Liv. 23, 9, 2: per ego has lacrimas ... te Oro, Verg. A. 4, 314; 12, 56; Tib. 4, 5, 7; Ov. F. 2, 841: per vos Tyrrhena faventum Stagna deum, per ego et Trebiam cineresque Sagunti Obtestor, Sil. 12, 79 sq.; 1, 658; Stat. Th. 11, 367.—With ellips. of object: per, si qua est ... Intemerata fides, oro, i. e. per eam, Verg. A. 2, 142; 10, 903: per, si quid merui de te bene, perque manentem amorem, Ne, etc., Ov. M. 7, 854.—Sometimes to indicate an apparent or pretended cause or inducement, under the show or pretext of, under color of: qui per tutelam aut societatem aut rem mandatam aut fiduciae rationem fraudavit quempiam, Cic. Caecin. 3, 7: naves triremes per causam exercendorum remigum ad fauces portus prodire jussit, under pretext of, Caes. B. C. 3, 24; v. causa: per speciem alienae fungendae vicis suas opes firmavit, Liv. 1, 41 fin.: per simulationem officii, Tac. H. 1, 74.—
D. In composition, it usually adds intensity to the signif., thoroughly, perfectly, completely, exceedingly, very much, very (very often in Cicero's epistolary style, and in new-formed words, as perbenevolus, percautus, percupidus, perbelle, perofficiose, pergaudeo; see these articles): pervelle, perfacilis, peramanter; sometimes it denotes the completion of an action, e. g. perorare, peragere; sometimes it is repeated: perdifficilis et perobscura quaestio, Cic. N. D. 1, 1, 1; so id. Rep. 1, 12, 18; id. Brut. 43, 158; id. Cael. 20 fin.; id. Fam. 9, 20, 3 al.; but also: perexiguā et minuta, id. Tusc. 2, 13, 30: percautus et diligens, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 6, § 18 al.; cf. Madv. ad Cic. Fin. p. 410.—It frequently occurs in tmesi: nobis ista sunt pergrata perque jucunda, Cic. de Or. 1, 47, 205: per mihi mirum visum est, id. ib. 49, 214: per enim magni aestimo, id. Att. 10, 1, 1: ibi te quam primum per videre velim, = videre pervelim, id. ib. 15, 4, 2: Platoni per fuit familiaris, Gell. 2, 18, 1: per, inquit, magister optime, exoptatus mihi nunc venis, id. 18, 4, 2.—Per quam (also perquam), very, exceedingly, extremely: per quam breviter perstrinxi, Cic. de Or. 2, 49, 201: per quam modica civium merita, Plin. Pan. 60: per quam velim scire, very much indeed, id. Ep. 7, 27, 1: PARENTES PER QVAM INFELICISSIMI, Inscr. Murat. 953, 2.—As one word: illorum mores perquam meditate tenes, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 6, 16: propulit perquam indignis modis, id. Rud. 3, 3, 9: erat perquam onerosum, Plin. Ep. 2, 11, 13: perquam honorificum, id. ib. 3, 4, 3.—Separated by an intervening word: per pol quam paucos reperias, Ter. Hec. 1, 1, 1.—Placed after the word it governs; v. supra, I. fin. and II. B.

Origins

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.

Elsewhere
  • Frenchparfrom Old French par
  • Englishparfrom Old French par
  • Portugueseporfrom Old Galician-Portuguese per
  • Spanishperfrom Old Spanish per
  • Englishper
  • Germanper
  • Istriotpar
  • Franco-Provençalper
  • Aragoneseperfrom Old Navarro-Aragonese per
  • Lorrainpoirfrom Old French par
Eastern Romance
  • Romanianpre
  • Romanianpe
  • Romanianpă
  • Romanianpi
  • Aromanianpri
  • Aromanianpi
  • Aromanianpre
Old Occitan
  • Catalanper
  • Occitanper
Italo-Romance
  • Italianper
  • Judeo-Italianפֵיר
  • Neapolitanpe
  • Neapolitanppe
  • Sicilianpi
  • Sicilianpri
  • Sicilianpir
Old Leonese
  • Asturianper
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianpar
  • Ladinper

Quick answers

What does per mean in Latin?
per, a preposition, means “through, by means of; throughout, during”.
How do you pronounce per?
In classical Latin, [ˈpɛr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɛr].