#Etymology#Linguistics#History
What is the origin of the word 'percent'?
TL;DR Summary: The word 'percent' comes from the Latin phrase 'per centum', meaning 'by the hundred'.
What is the origin of the word 'percent'?
The word percent has its roots in Latin and evolved through Italian trade language before entering the English language.
Etymological Breakdown
- Latin Origin: The term originates from the Latin phrase per centum, where per means "through" or "by," and centum means "hundred." Therefore, it literally translates to "by the hundred."
- Italian Influence: During the Middle Ages, as commerce grew in Renaissance Italy, variations like per cento were widely used in trade documents and mathematical texts to calculate taxes, interest rates, and goods.
- Transition to English: Over time, the phrase was contracted in English usage to per cent, and eventually combined into the single modern word percent.
The Symbol (%)
The symbol for percent (%) has a fascinating history of its own. It evolved from a 17th-century abbreviation of per cento, where the words were gradually simplified into a horizontal fraction-like sign with a slash and two zeros.