Per-
Origin 1
Borrowing from la per and per-.
Full definition of per-
Prefix
- (non-productive) In verbs: denoting the sense "through", as in perforate.
- (non-productive) In verbs: denoting the sense "thoroughly", as in perfect.
- (non-productive) In verbs: denoting the sense "to destruction", as in pervert.
- (non-productive) In adjectives and adverbs: denoting the sense "extremely", as in perfervid.
- (chemistry) Forming nouns and adjectives denoting the maximum proportion of one element in a compound, as in peroxide.
- (chemistry) Added to the name of an element in a polyatomic ion denote the number of that element (usually four).
Derived terms
Origin 2
Borrowing from fro per (modern French par).