Percent/Per Cent/Pour Cent

The American way of writing % is 'percent'.
The English way of writing % is 'per cent'.

I hate (or love) epic failures, especially when they pertain to the American public, and especially when they have to do with writing/grammar/literature.

American goes back to English which goes back to French which probably goes back to Latin
Percent goes back to Per Cent which goes back to Pour Cent which probably goes back to ??? (I dropped Latin as a freshman)

The French 'Pour Cent' literally translates out to be 'for a hundred'. When you say 'forty eight percent' e.g., you are saying 'forty eight of a hundred'. Makes sense, eh (the Canadian type)?