Per mille

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Per mille
In UnicodeU+2030 PER MILLE SIGN (‰)
Related
See alsoU+0025 % PERCENT SIGN
U+2031 PER TEN THOUSAND SIGN (Basis point)
Visualisation of 1%, 1‰, 1‱, 1 pcm and 1 ppm as fractions of the large block (larger version)

Per mille (from Latin per mīlle, "in each thousand")[1] is an expression that means parts per thousand.[2] Other recognised spellings include per mil,[2] per mill,[1][3] permil,[1] permill,[1] or permille.[4][5]

The associated sign is written , which looks like a percent sign % with an extra zero or o in the divisor.

The term occurs so rarely in English[citation needed] that major dictionaries do not agree on the spelling[1][2][3] and some major dictionaries such as Macmillan[6] do not even contain an entry. The term is more common in other European languages where it is used to express fractions smaller than 1%. One common usage is blood alcohol content, which is usually expressed as a percentage in English-speaking countries.

Per mille should not be confused with parts per million (ppm).

Computer systems[edit]

The code point for the glyph is included in the General Punctuation block of Unicode characters: U+2030 PER MILLE SIGN.[4] It may be typed using Alt+0137, Compose%o, Ctrl+⇧ Shift+u 2030, or ⌥ Option+⇧ Shift+r according to operating system.

Note that for the compose key sequence the percent key (%) is followed by lower case letter o and not, as might be expected, by digit 0.[7]

Examples[edit]

A railroad distance and gradient sign in Gdańsk, Poland. The 50‰ grade is equivalent to 5%.
A tram and gradient sign in Gdańsk, Poland. The 50‰ grade is equivalent to 5%.

Examples of use include:

Related units[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2005. per mil, adv
  2. ^ a b c "per mille". Business English. Cambridge Dictionary Online. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 8 June 2020. per mille adverb (also per mil)
  3. ^ a b "per mill". Oxford Dictionaries: The American Dictionary. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved 1 Aug 2014.
  4. ^ a b Unicode. "General Punctuation". 2014. Accessed 5 Aug 2014.
  5. ^ "per mille". Longman Business Dictionary. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Macmillan Dictionary". Retrieved 1 Aug 2014. No result
  7. ^ Monniaux, David. "UTF-8 (Unicode) compose sequence". Retrieved 2015-07-15.

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Per mille at Wikimedia Commons