per se

[Latin per sē : per, per + sē, itself.]

By means of itself. The term relates to a circumstance that does not require extraneous evidence or support to establish its existence.

[Latin, In itself.] Simply as such; in its own nature without reference to its relation.

In the law of defamation, slander per se refers to certain language that is actionable as slander in and of itself without proof of special damages, such as the situation in which a person is falsely accused of having committed a crime. Defamation per se is in contradistinction to defamation per quod, which requires proof of special damages.

See: libel and slander.

In itself; for its own sake.

See also: Perse

Look up per se in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

per se (also misspelled as "per say", "persay" or "persai"):

• A Latin phrase used in English arguments for "by itself" or "by themselves"

It also is used in law:

• Illegal per se, the legal usage of "per se" in criminal and anti-trust law
• Negligence per se, legal use in tort law

Other uses:

• Per se (restaurant), a New York City restaurant

Not to be confused with legal self-representation pro se legal representation in the United States

Example

"Gun ownership in Japan is not, per se, illegal; however, the restrictions are such that one could easily arrive at that conclusion."

"Data trustworthiness should be attributed primarily to data per se, rather than being merely a reflection of the trust attributed to data-reporting entities."

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