percent
UK: pəˈsɛnt | US: pərˈsɛnt
n. one part in a hundred; a proportion multiplied by 100 (e.g., "30 percent of the population")
n. (informal) a percentage point (e.g., "a rise of two percent")
percent = per<through/for each> + cent<hundred>
- per: From Latin per ("through, by, for each"), retaining its original meaning of distribution or division.
- cent: From Latin centum ("hundred"), via Old French cent. Used in English to denote units of 100 (e.g., century, centipede).
Etymology Origin:
The word percent emerged in 16th-century English from the Italian phrase per cento ("by the hundred"), itself derived from Latin per centum. It originally described financial interest rates calculated per hundred units. The morpheme per emphasizes proportional distribution, while cent anchors the calculation to a base of 100, reflecting its enduring role in quantifying ratios.
About 75 percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water.
The bank offered an interest rate of 3.5 percent annually.
Her score improved by 10 percent after studying.
Only 20 percent of participants completed the survey.
Prices rose by two percent last month.