Wikipedia:What does "per" mean?

Frequently, on Wikipedia process pages, people make comments containing the word per, such as:

"Depiping links per WP:NOPIPE"
"Delete per nom"
"Oppose per User:Example"

New users are occasionally confused about what the word per means or implies. Per is a Latin preposition that means "through" or "by means of". Per (pronounced like "purr") is also an English preposition that can mean "for each", "to each", "by means of", or [lastly, annoyingly] "in accordance with"; somewhat interchangeably with the [even more annoying] "as per". In the example expressions here, it conveys "because of the rationale presented at/by".

Comments that are only "per" something may be considered arguments to avoid. (See WP:PERNOM and WP:JUSTAPOLICY.) However, such comments are not banned and, in some cases, it would be pointless to explain in great detail.


© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search