per seper se /ˌpɜː ˈseɪ $ ˌpɜːr ˈsiː, -ˈseɪ, ˌper ˈseɪ/ adverb formalWord Origin
WORD ORIGINper se
Origin:
1500-1600Latin ‘by itself’
Examples
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Money per se is not the main reason that people change careers.
used to say that something is being considered alone, not with other connected things: The color of the shell per se does not affect the quality of the egg.