Yes, welcome aBoard, Gina. (eta, I like that appellation SO much better than my mental pronunciation--thank you.)

I am not a language expert, but sometimes I can look things up. Encarta dictionary gives:
PER

adverb

for each one: for each one ( informal )


[14th century. From Latin. Ultimately, from an Indo-European base meaning “through, forward,” which is also the ancestor of English for1, pro, and pre-.]

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861724901/per.html


Whoa--take a look at this additional def. from Infoplease:
per•pend

Pronunciation: (pűr'pund), [key]
—n.
a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall. Also,parpen,perpent.Also called through stone.

http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/perpend

Dang--despite the above making me think of parapet, there's no connection, acc'g. to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English:
parapet
/parrpit/

• noun 1 a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony. 2 a protective wall or bank along the top of a military trench.

— ORIGIN French, or from Italian parapetto, ‘chest-high wall’.

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/parapet?view=uk