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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

per-

In verbs: denoting the sense "through", as in perforate.

    Etymology graph

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    • derived
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Borrowed from Latin per and per-.

    Etymology 2

    Inherited from Middle English per-.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • borrowedLatinper “by, through, for, by means of”
      • inheritedProto-Italic*per
      • derivedProto-Indo-European*per- “produce, procure, bring forward, bring forth”
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*sóh₂wl̥ “sun”
        • derivedProto-Indo-European*kouHp-nó-
      • derivedLatinad montem “to the mountain; upward”
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd “near, at”
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*men- “small”
      • derivedLatinamōrem
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*h₃emh₃- “to grasp, seize; to take hold; to touch; etc.”
      • derivedLatinad “towards”
        • inheritedProto-Italic*ad
        • derivedProto-Indo-European*ád “at; near”
        • derivedFrenchdroit “right”
        • derivedLatincōnsuō “to sew together”
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*gʷerH- “to welcome, greet, praise”
        • derivedOld Frenchajouster
        • derivedLatindīrēctus “laid straight; direct, straight; level; upright”
        • derivedLatinvallis
        • derivedLatinmollire
        • derivedFrenchmou
    • borrowedLatinper- “through, along; during”
      • inheritedProto-Italic*peri-
      • derivedLatiniactō “to cast, hurl, throw”
        • derived (ultimately)Proto-Indo-European*(H)yeh₁- “to throw, impel”
      • derivedLatinfoliātus “leaved”
        • partLatinfolium “leaf”
        • partLatin-ātus “-ed”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishper-
      • borrowedOld Frenchpar “by”

    Meanings

    prefix
    1. In verbs: denoting the sense "through", as in perforate.
    2. In verbs: denoting the sense "thoroughly", as in perfect.
    3. In verbs: denoting the sense "to destruction", as in pervert.
    4. In adjectives and adverbs: denoting the sense "extremely", as in perfervid.
    5. Forming nouns and adjectives denoting the maximum proportion of one element in a compound, as in peroxide.
    6. Added to the name of an element in a polyatomic ion to denote the number of atoms of that element (usually four).

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: per-