Prozent

Forms

Prozent n (genitive Prozentes or Prozents, plural Prozente)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian per cento (“for a hundred, per hundred”), borrowed into the language of south German merchants in the 15th century.^[2][3][4] The Italian phrase is made of per (“for, by”) and cento (“hundred”), from Latin centum (“hundred”).^[3][1] A Latinised version with prō (“for”) in place of the Italian preposition appeared beside it at the beginning of the 16th century and prevailed in German.^[3][4][5] The older form survives in Austrian Perzent.^[3][4][5] The same phrase is Dutch procent, French pour-cent and English per cent.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Early New High German per cento appears in south German commercial sources of the 15th century as a merchants' term for “per hundred”.^[3][4] The Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch cites a record of pro cento from 1505, and Peter Apian's arithmetic of 1527 uses both pro cento and per cento.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Written as one word, procent (17th century) gradually became a noun.^[3] From it German formed adjectives in -prozentig, as in hochprozentig and hundertprozentig (19th century), and the Neo-Latin prozentual (late 19th century).^[3][4] The sign % developed from abbreviations of the same phrase.^[5] The German replacement vom Hundert, proposed in 1888, was fixed in the Civil Code and spread quickly from there.^[5]

In the plural, Prozente also came to mean a share of profits or a discount calculated in per cent.^[6] The German word was borrowed as Polish procent and Russian процент (procent).^[1]

Timeline

• 15th century – per cento appears in south German merchants' language.^[2][3]
• 1505 – A record of pro cento.^[5]
• 1527 – Peter Apian's arithmetic book uses pro cento and per cento.^[5]
• Mid-16th century – The shortened form pro cent appears.^[3][7]
• 17th century – procent is written as one word.^[3]
• 1888 – The German term vom Hundert is proposed as a replacement.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A percent, one hundredth of a whole, used with numbers relating to a base of one hundred: Das Bier hat fünf Prozent Alkohol.^[6][1]
2. (colloquial, plural) A share of profit or a discount calculated in per cent: Prozente bekommen.^[6][7]

Word family

• -prozentig
• prozentual
• hochprozentig
• hundertprozentig

Related words

• Zentner
• Perzent
• English percent

Usage notes

After a number the word does not take the plural ending: fünf Prozent.^[6][8] In Austria the older form Perzent is still used.^[4][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 728
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
4. ^ a b c d e f Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 662
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
6. ^ a b c d Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
7. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
8. ^ Duden. Das Fremdwörterbuch (2007), 9th ed., Duden vol. 5, Mannheim: Dudenverlag