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per centum

per centum

7.6
A number that shows how much out of every hundred
  • noun
translation icon : porcentaje
  • The company reported a profit of five per centum for the last quarter.

Examples

  • And it's quite striking that mortality from buildings and and windows, and these are deaths per hundred, these are avian deaths.

  • She earned interest at a rate of three per centum on her savings account.

  • During the sale, prices were reduced by ten per centum to attract more customers.

Synonyms

percent
vsper centum
1.0

One part in every hundred used to show a rate

expresses the same proportion using a fuller written form
percentage
vsper centum
712 2.1

A part of a whole shown as a number out of 100

refers to the same proportion but focuses on rate rather than share
pct
vsper centum
3 3.3

A number showing how many parts out of one hundred

is the full written form rather than the shortened version

How Much

entirety
68 4.1
majority
2.1
per centum
7.6
portion
449 2.1
fraction
192 3.4

Surface Forms

per centum singular
per centums plural
per centa singular

Morphology

per + centum

The meaning 'per hundred' is directly and compositionally built from 'per' (indicating a rate or ratio) plus 'centum' (hundred), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a proportion per hundred (i.e. percent). Although 'per centum' is a formal/Latinized variant and somewhat rare in everyday speech, the constituent logic is transparent and comparable across many languages, making it immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows the parts.

Etymology

Per centum comes from Latin words per and centum, which literally mean 'for each hundred'. That's why per centum means a rate or part 'per hundred', the same idea as 'percent'.