per se
English
Etymology
From Latin per se (“by itself”), from per (“by, through”), and se (“itself, himself, herself, themselves”).
Pronunciation
Adverb
per se (not comparable)
- By itself; without consideration of extraneous factors.
- The law makes drunk driving illegal per se.
- (chiefly in negative polarity environments) As such; as one would expect from the name.
- Well, that's not correct per se, but the situation is something like that.
- (law) As a matter of law.
Usage notes
- Because this is originally a Latin phrase, it is sometimes italicized when it is written.
Quotations
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Translations
by itself
Anagrams
Dutch
Etymology
From Latin per se (“by itself”), from per (“by, through”), and se (“itself, himself, herself, themselves”).
Pronunciation
- IPA: /pɛrˈseː/
Alternative forms
- (obsolete since spelling reform of 1995) persé
Adverb
- necessarily, absolutely, without fail
- (rare) per se
Usage notes
The ‘necessity’ meaning is the usual one; the original Latin meaning as in English is rarely used and can be misunderstood.