percento Italian · revision 39114

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound, calque|attested=1881, G. Boccardo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /perˈt͡ʃɛn.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''percento''' ''m'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Also written as two words, [[per cento]], the usual spelling after a number, or with the symbol %.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011) GRADIT treats ''percento'' as a variant of ''per cento''.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|it|per|cento]], the phrase [[per cento]] “in a hundred” written as one word, on the model of [[fr|pour cent]], recorded in French from 1538.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020) The GDLI also compares [[en|per cent]] (1568) and takes both from [[la|per centum]]; it dates the French form only from 1845.^(GDLI) Nocentini classes it as an Italian formation of Romance origin.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ DELI's first record is in G. Boccardo in 1881, as a noun for a sum worked out as a percentage.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) The GDLI quotes Boccardo on banking, where one usually reckons ''percento'' only by quarters or halves (''a quarti o a mezzi'').^(GDLI)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective [[percentuale]] is slightly older than the noun: DELI finds it in 1878 in B. Veratti and in 1881 in Fanfani and Arlìa, correcting DEI's date of 1877.^(DELI 1999) As a feminine noun, ''percentuale'' was recorded in 1886 for a commission or tax worked out at so much per hundred, and the verb ''percentualizzare'', to work out percentages from figures, in 1963.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Vittorini wrote of each farmer handing over ''il suo bravo percento'', his due share, of what he grew.^(GDLI) In modern use the joined spelling is mostly kept for the noun, while after a number the words are written apart or replaced by %.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1538 – French ''pour cent'' is recorded, the model of the Italian phrase.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1878 – The adjective ''percentuale'' is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * 1881 – G. Boccardo uses the noun ''percento''.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+ * 1886 – ''Percentuale'' is recorded as a noun, “commission, percentage”.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1963 – The verb ''percentualizzare'' is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|percentage]], a share counted in hundredths: ''Il venditore prende un percento su ogni contratto.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # After a number, [[m|en|per cent]]: so many in every hundred, usually written ''per cento'' or %: ''Il prezzo è salito del dodici per cento.''^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[percentuale]]

+ * [[percentualizzare]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[per]]

+ * [[cento]]

+ * [[fr|pour cent]]

+ * [[en|per cent]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ After a number Sabatini–Coletti and Treccani prefer the separate spelling ''per cento'' or the symbol %, as in ''10%''.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}