Definition:Per Cent

Definition

Per cent means per hundred.

It expresses a number as the number of hundredths of a given whole.

Hence $x \%$ is read as $x$ per cent and means $\dfrac x {100}$.

Such an expression can be referred to as a percentage.

Also known as

The phrase per cent can often be seen rendered as percent.

Some older works, from an era when punctuation was required to be more precise, render the phrase as per cent., that is, with a following "." in order to indicate that it is an abbreviation.

It is a welcome evolution of the English language that such fussiness has since been dispensed with.

Linguistic Note

Per cent literally means per hundred, or in every hundred.

It derives from the Latin centum, meaning $100$.

Sources

• 1989: Ephraim J. Borowski and Jonathan M. Borwein: Dictionary of Mathematics ... (previous) ... (next): per cent
• 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): percent
• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): percent
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): per cent (%)
• 2021: Richard Earl and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (6th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): per cent (%)