What does "Per John:" mean?
From the context of the article I'm reading (article unlinked), it seems to mean "From John:" or "John (said):"
What exactly does the word "per" mean when used as such?
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Can you please provide more context? I'd like to give my answer but I wanna be sure from where you took that expression. :)– AlenannoCommented May 31, 2011 at 7:51
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2A colleague of mine has the first name "Per." So, it'll be "Per per" in his case ...– YujiCommented Jun 1, 2011 at 1:58
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1possible duplicate of Usage of 'as per'– aedia λCommented Sep 16, 2011 at 1:54
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@aedia this is a totally different thing altogether. My question is having the Per at the start of the sentence, with the syntax: "Per [name]:"– PacerierCommented Sep 16, 2011 at 16:17
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I suggested that these are the same because the meaning doesn't change if we write per or as per someone. If, in a cover message, I write, As per John: Title changed to "Exceedingly Boring Report" or Per John: Title changed to "Exceedingly Boring Report", there's really no difference; I am saying the title was changed according to John. The new title came from him, or the change was made on account of his suggestion or demand; I attribute it to him.– aedia λCommented Sep 16, 2011 at 17:28
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2 Answers
"Per" in this case means "according to", taken from the Latin word per which meant "per : (+ acc.) (cause) because of, on account of. "
The OED has a citation from 1818 where the meaning is "as laid down by (by a judge)"
answered May 31, 2011 at 6:58
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I've always read it as "on behalf of." "According to," works most of the time, but "as laid down by," seems to translate better as "on behalf of."– xdumaineCommented May 31, 2011 at 14:34
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"On behalf of" is usually rendered per pro or pp, as when secretaries sign letters for their absent boss. It actually means the reverse of that, though :-)– user1579Commented May 31, 2011 at 15:39
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I agree "according to" or "as [name] said" is the meaning we're looking for: Per Jane, we are to meet in the conference room at 2, for example.– aedia λCommented May 31, 2011 at 16:01
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Alternatively, per : (+ acc.) (means / instrument) through, with, by, by means of. Namely the last, 'By means of Jane (== By way of Jane; By the way of being informed by Jane) we are to meet in the conference room at 2.' This chimes far better with the latin I studied, where the only context per made much of an appearance in was similar to 'per viam advenit' (He came through the street... if my memory fails me not)– SamCommented Jun 9, 2014 at 13:53
Well, there's another very important usage of this word, one that hasn't been mentioned yet.
The room costs 40 € per person.
In this case, per has a meaning for for each. This matches with the main question as asked in the topic title, but doesn't with the example given in the thread itself: per John, as you never charge something per John, haha.
There's another case where per would fit both your examples. Like this:
I finished the job per John's request.
Which basically means you finished the job as John ordered you to.
answered May 31, 2011 at 10:40
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2I suspect most prositutes do in fact charge per john. ;-) Commented Dec 23, 2013 at 16:34