per, prep. with acc. (by solecism with abl. PER QVO, = whereby, Inscr. Miseni Repert. ex a. p. Chr. n. 159; Inscr. Orell. 3300) [kindr. with Gr. παρά; Sanscr. pāra, ulterior; Lith. pèr; cf.: parumper, paulisper; v. Curt. Gr. Etym. p. 269], denotes, like the Gr. διά, motion through a space, or extension over it.
I Lit., of space, through , through the midst of , throughout , all over , all along : per amoena salicta raptare aliquem, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 40 Vahl.): inde Fert sese (equus) campi per caerula laetaque prata, id. ap. Macr. S. 6, 3 ( id. v. 505 ib.): per amoenam urbem leni fluit agmine flumen, id. ap. id. ib. 6, 4 ( id. v. 177 ib.): per membranas oculorum cernere, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 142: coronam auream per forum ferre, id. Att. 14, 16, 2: iit hasta per tempus utrumque, Verg. A. 9, 418: se per munitiones deicere, Caes. B. G. 3, 26: per mare pauperiem fugiens, per saxa, per ignes, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 46: per ignes, Ov. M. 8, 76: per Averna, id. ib. 14, 105: per caelum, Verg. A. 4, 700: per vias fabulari, in all the streets , Plaut. Cist. 5, 1: per totam urbem, id. Ep. 2, 2, 11: qui per provincias atque imperium tuum pecunias ei credidissent, in the provinces , Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 6: invitati hospitaliter per domos, Liv. 1, 9: via secta per ambas (zonas), Verg. G. 1, 238; 245: nascuntur copiosissime in Balearibus ac per Hispanias, in , Plin. 19, 5, 30, § 94: per illas gentes celebratur, throughout , Tac. A. 12, 12: gustūs elementa per omnia quaerunt, Juv. 11, 14.— Placed after the noun: viam per, Lucr. 6, 1264: transtra per et remos et pictas abiete puppes, Verg. A. 5, 663; 6, 692.
II Transf.
A Of time, through , throughout , during , for : quod des bubus per hiemem, the winter through , during the winter , Cato R. R. 25: nulla res per triennium, nisi ad nutum istius, judicata est, Cic. Verr. 1, 5, 13: nulla abs te per hos dies epistula ... venerat, during these days , id. Att. 2, 8, 1: per decem dies ludi facti sunt, id. Cat. 3, 8, 20: per idem tempus, during , at , in the course of , id. Brut. 83, 286; Suet. Galb. 10: per noctem cernuntur sidera, during the night , in the night-time , Plin. 2, 10, 7, § 48: per inducias, during , Liv. 38, 2: per multa bella, id. 8, 13: per ludos, id. 2, 18: per comitia, Suet. Caes. 80: per somnum, id. ib. 45: per tempus, during , i. e. at the right time , = in tempore, Plaut. Poen. 1, 1, 6; Ter. And. 783; id. Hec. 622.—So distr.: per singulas noctes, Suet. Caes. 1; id. Calig. 22; cf.: per haec, meanwhile , id. Claud. 27: per quae, id. Tib. 52.—
B To indicate the agent, instrument, or means, through , by , by means of : statuerunt injurias per vos ulcisci, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 3, § 9: detrimenta publicis rebus per homines eloquentissimos importata, id. de Or. 1, 9, 38: quid ais? vulgo occidebantur? Per quos? et a quibus? by whom? and by whose command? id. Rosc. Am. 29, 80: quae domi gerenda sunt, ea per Caeciliam transiguntur, id. ib. 51, 149: quod nefarium stuprum non per illum factum est, id. Cat. 2, 4, 7.—Placed after its case: Exerce vocem, quam per vivis et colis, Plaut. Poen. prol. 13.—Esp.: per fidem decipere, fallere, etc. (= datā fide): per fidem deceptus sum, through confidence , i. e. in my host who betrayed me , Plaut. Most. 2, 2, 69; Cic. Inv. 1, 39, 71; Caes. B. G. 1, 46, 3.—So, per se, per te, through himself , by himself , of himself , etc.: homo per se cognitus, sine ullā commendatione majorum, Cic. Brut. 25, 96: per me tibi obstiti, = solus, by myself , id. Cat. 1, 5, 11: satis per te tibi consulis, Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 1: per se solus, Liv. 1, 49.—With ipse : nihil ipsos per se sine P. Sullā facere potuisse, Cic. Sull. 24, 67: ipsum per se, suā vi, sua naturā, sua sponte laudabile, id. Fin. 2, 15, 50.—To form an adverb. expression, in , by , through , etc.: non dubitavi id a te per litteras petere, by letter , Cic. Fam. 2, 6, 2: per summum dedecus vitam amittere, in the most infamous manner , most infamously , id. Rosc. Am. 11, 30: per iram facere aliquid, in anger , id. Tusc. 4, 37, 79: per commodum, Liv. 30, 29, 3 (cf. II. A. supra): per commodum rei publicae, id. 10, 25, 17; 22, 57, 1; 31, 11, 2: per ludum et jocum, sporting and jesting , in sport and jest , Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 60, § 155; cf. id. ib. 2, 5, 70, § 181: per vim, forcibly , Sall. J. 23, 1: per dolum, id. ib. 11, 8: per otium, at leisure , Liv. 4, 58, 12: ceteris copiis per otium trajectis, id. 21, 28, 4: cibo per otium capto, id. 21, 55, 1: per tumultum = tumultuose, id. 44, 45, 14. —
C To designate the reason, cause, inducement, etc., through , for , by , on account of , for the sake of : per metum mussari, Plaut. Aul. 2, 1, 12: qui per virtutem perit, at non interit, id. Capt. 3, 5, 32: cum antea per aetatem nondum hujus auctoritatem loci attingere auderem, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 1, 1: per aetatem, Caes. B. G. 2, 16 fin. : Druso propinquanti quasi per officium obviae fuere legiones, Tac. A. 1, 24: ut nihil eum delectaret, quod aut per naturam fas esset aut per leges liceret, Cic. Mil. 16, 43: cum per valetudinem posses, venire tamen noluisti, id. Fam. 7, 1, 1: per me, per te, etc., as far as concerns me , you , etc.: si per vos licet, Plaut. As. prol. 12: per me vel stertas licet, Cic. Ac. 2 ( Luc. ), 29, 93; cf.: sin hoc non licet per Cratippum, id. Off. 3, 7, 33: fides publica per sese inviolata, Sall. J. 33, 3: per me ista pedibus trahantur, Cic. Att. 4, 16, 10: per me stetisse, quo minus hae fierent nuptiae, Ter. And. 699: si per suos esset licitum, Nep. Eum. 10, 3: inspicere vitia nec per magistros nec per aetatem licebat, Macr. S. 1, 24. —Hence, in oaths, entreaties, asseverations, etc., by a god, by men, or by inanimate or abstract things, by : IOVRANTO PER IOVEM, etc., Tab. Bant. lin. 15: per pol saepe peccas, Plaut. Cas. 2, 6, 18; cf.: si per plures deos juret, Cic. Rab. Post. 13, 36: quid est enim, per deos, optabilius sapientiā? id. Off. 2, 2, 5: per deos atque homines, id. Div. 2, 55, 116: per dexteram te istam oro, id. Deiot. 3, 8; cf.: per tuam fidem Te obtestor, Ter. And. 290: nunc te per amicitiam et per amorem obsecro, id. ib. 326: per pietatem! Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 4: per comitatem edepol, pater, etc., id. ib. 2, 2, 52.—In this signif. often separated from its object: per ego vobis deos atque homines dies, ut, etc., Plaut. Men. 5, 7, 1: per ego te deos oro, Ter. And. 538; 834: per ego te, fili ... precor quaesoque, etc., Liv. 23, 9, 2: per ego has lacrimas ... te Oro, Verg. A. 4, 314; 12, 56; Tib. 4, 5, 7; Ov. F. 2, 841: per vos Tyrrhena faventum Stagna deum, per ego et Trebiam cineresque Sagunti Obtestor, Sil. 12, 79 sq.; 1, 658; Stat. Th. 11, 367.—With ellips. of object : per, si qua est ... Intemerata fides, oro, i. e. per eam, Verg. A. 2, 142; 10, 903: per, si quid merui de te bene, perque manentem amorem, Ne, etc., Ov. M. 7, 854.—Sometimes to indicate an apparent or pretended cause or inducement, under the show or pretext of , under color of : qui per tutelam aut societatem aut rem mandatam aut fiduciae rationem fraudavit quempiam, Cic. Caecin. 3, 7: naves triremes per causam exercendorum remigum ad fauces portus prodire jussit, under pretext of , Caes. B. C. 3, 24; v. causa: per speciem alienae fungendae vicis suas opes firmavit, Liv. 1, 41 fin. : per simulationem officii, Tac. H. 1, 74.—
D In composition, it usually adds intensity to the signif., thoroughly , perfectly , completely , exceedingly , very much , very (very often in Cicero's epistolary style, and in new-formed words, as perbenevolus, percautus, percupidus, perbelle, perofficiose, pergaudeo; see these articles): pervelle, perfacilis, peramanter; sometimes it denotes the completion of an action, e. g. perorare, peragere; sometimes it is repeated: perdifficilis et perobscura quaestio, Cic. N. D. 1, 1, 1; so id. Rep. 1, 12, 18; id. Brut. 43, 158; id. Cael. 20 fin. ; id. Fam. 9, 20, 3 al.; but also: perexiguā et minuta, id. Tusc. 2, 13, 30: percautus et diligens, id. Q. Fr. 1, 1, 6, § 18 al.; cf. Madv. ad Cic. Fin. p. 410.—It frequently occurs in tmesi: nobis ista sunt pergrata perque jucunda, Cic. de Or. 1, 47, 205: per mihi mirum visum est, id. ib. 49, 214: per enim magni aestimo, id. Att. 10, 1, 1: ibi te quam primum per videre velim, = videre pervelim, id. ib. 15, 4, 2: Platoni per fuit familiaris, Gell. 2, 18, 1: per, inquit, magister optime, exoptatus mihi nunc venis, id. 18, 4, 2.—Per quam (also perquam), very , exceedingly , extremely : per quam breviter perstrinxi, Cic. de Or. 2, 49, 201: per quam modica civium merita, Plin. Pan. 60: per quam velim scire, very much indeed , id. Ep. 7, 27, 1: PARENTES PER QVAM INFELICISSIMI, Inscr. Murat. 953, 2.—As one word: illorum mores perquam meditate tenes, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 6, 16: propulit perquam indignis modis, id. Rud. 3, 3, 9: erat perquam onerosum, Plin. Ep. 2, 11, 13: perquam honorificum, id. ib. 3, 4, 3.—Separated by an intervening word: per pol quam paucos reperias, Ter. Hec. 58.—Placed after the word it governs; v. supra, I. fin. and II. B.