per cent

 
Pronunciation: /pə ˈsɛnt/
(also US percent)

adverb

  • by a specified amount in or for every hundred: new car sales may be down nineteen per cent staff rejected a 1.8 per cent increase

noun

  • one part in every hundred: a reduction of half a per cent or so in price
  • the rate, number, or amount in each hundred.

Origin:

mid 16th century: from per + cent, perhaps an abbreviation of pseudo-Latin per centum