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Etymology and origin of the English word percent

Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1568 More words from the 16th century
From
Latin per centum
Ultimate origin
Latin centum
Derivations

Pronunciation

  • UK: /pəˈsɛnt/[1]
  • US: /pɚˈsɛnt/[1]

Forms

Etymology

It is a shortening from New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”),[2][3][4][5] from per (“by, through”) and centum (“hundred”),[2][4][6] compare Italian per cento.[3] Barnhart says the English form was perhaps also influenced in some cases by Middle French pour cent.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

“By the hundred”, after a numeral: 1568, as per cent.[3][6][5] or the 1560s.[2]

Semantic evolution

Until the early 20th century it was often treated as an abbreviation and written per cent. with a full stop.[2] The noun, “a percentage”, is from 1667, and the adjective from 1888.[6][5] Percentage is from 1786–90, in Jeremy Bentham's works,[3] and percentile, in statistics, from 1885.[3]

Timeline

  • 1568 – per cent..[3]
  • 1667 – noun, a percentage.[6]
  • 1786 – percentage.[3]
  • 1885 – percentile.[3]
  • 1888 – adjective.[6]

Modern meaning

Adverb

  1. In or for every hundred: ten percent.

Noun

  1. One part in a hundred; a percentage.

Adjective

  1. Paying or charging interest at a stated percentage.

Word family

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary notes that a quantity can be increased by any percentage but cannot be decreased by more than 100 percent, so advertising claims such as a 300 percent reduction are logically nonsensical.[7] In British English per cent, written as two words, is the normal form.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Percent.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/percent. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·