Latin phrases are commonly misused, but there’s perhaps no better example than Vampire Butters’ butchering of per se, which simply means “in itself,” in this episode of South Park. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Misusing Per Se”
Jennifer wrote us from San Diego to say,
I absolutely giggle every time I hear someone use the term per se in sentences.
It all started when South Park, the TV show,
had an episode where a character used that term all the time in his conversations.
My boyfriend and I couldn’t stop laughing
because it’s such an odd term that’s used in so many situations.
And I’m not sure accurately.
I hear people use it in conversations out and about pretty often, and I’d love to know how it came about.
Well, it turns out that some people try spelling it P-E-R-S-A-Y, but that’s not the origin of it.
That’s where the confusion lies.
Se, S-E in Latin means itself.
And so per se simply means in itself or in and of itself.
So you’d say money per se isn’t evil.
It’s the love of money that causes evil, that kind of thing.
So it’s directly from Latin, P-E-R space S-E, per se.
Right.
Email words@waywordradio.org.
