What is "per se"

Latin, literally "by itself;" translating Greek kath auto (Aristotle).

adv. 1 By itself; without consideration of extraneous factors. 2 (context chiefly in Appendix:Glossary#negative polarity item negative polarity environments English) as such; as one would expect from the name. 3 (context legal English) As a matter of law.

adv. with respect to its inherent nature; "this statement is interesting per se" [syn: intrinsically, as such, in and of itself]

Per se may refer to:

• per se (Latin), a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself".
• Illegal per se, the legal usage in criminal and anti-trust law
• Negligence per se, legal use in tort law
• Per Se (restaurant), a New York City restaurant

Per Se is a New American and French restaurant located on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center at 10 Columbus Circle (at West 60th Street and Broadway) in Manhattan in New York City, owned by chef Thomas Keller. In 2011, it was called the best restaurant in New York City by the New York Times. The chef is Eli Kaimeh. Per Se is currently the third most expensive restaurant in the world after Sublimotion and Urasawa with an average guest spending approximately $851.