— percental , adj.
/peuhr sent"/ , n.
1. Also called per centum . one one-hundredth part; 1 / 100 .
2. percentage (defs. 1, 3).
3. Brit. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest.
adj.
4. figured or expressed on the basis of a rate or proportion per hundred (used in combination with a number in expressing rates of interest, proportions, etc.): to get three percent interest. Symbol: %
Also, per cent .
[ 1560-70; short for ML per centum by the hundred. See PER, CENT ]
Usage . PERCENT is from the Latin adverbial phrase per centum meaning "by the hundred." The Latin phrase entered English in the 16th century. Later, it was abbreviated per cent. with a final period. Eventually, the period was dropped and the two parts merged to produce the modern one-word form PERCENT. The two-word form PER CENT is still used occasionally, but its use is diminishing. The percent sign ( % ) is used chiefly in scientific, tabular, or statistical material and only with numerals preceding it: 58%.
In the senses "rate or proportion per hundred" and "proportion in general" PERCENT and PERCENTAGE are frequently interchangeable. With a preceding number, only PERCENT occurs ( a 16 percent decline ); with no preceding number, either occurs, but PERCENTAGE is much more common: a certain percentage (or percent ) of the land.