proficient

English

Etymology

From Latin proficiens, present participle of proficere (“to go forward, advance, make progress, succeed, be profitable or useful”), from pro (“forth, forward”) + facere (“to make, do”); see fact.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /pɹəˈfɪʃ.ənt/, SAMPA: /pr@"fIS.@nt/
• (US) IPA: /pɹoʊˈfɪʃ.ənt/, /pɹoʊˈfɪʃ.ənʔ/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

proficient (comparative more proficient, superlative most proficient)

1. Good at; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill.

   He was a proficient writer with an interest in human nature.

   • 1912: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5

     By constant playing and experimenting with these he learned to tie rude knots, and make sliding nooses; and with these he and the younger apes amused themselves. What Tarzan did they tried to do also, but he alone originated and became proficient.

Synonyms

• (good at): skilled, fluent, practiced

Translations

skilled

Chinese: Mandarin: 熟練 (cmn), 熟练 (cmn) (shúliàn), 諳練 (cmn), 谙练 (cmn) (ānliàn), 精通的 (zh) Dutch: geoefend (nl), competent (nl), bekwaam (nl) Finnish: taitava (fi); sujuva (fi) (of language) French: compétent (fr) German: tüchtig (de), fähig (de), kompetent (de), befähigt (de), bewandert (de), erfahren (de), sachkundig (de), geübt (de) Hindi: प्रवीण (hi) (pravīṇ)

Icelandic: fær (is), snjall (is) Japanese: 熟練 (ja) (じゅくれん, jukuren) (+ -な -na) , 上手 (ja) (じょうず, jōzu) (+ -な -na) Manx: aghtal (gv) Norwegian: flink (no) Russian: умелый (ru) (umélyj), искусный (ru) (iskúsnyj), компетентный (ru) (kompeténtnyj) Swedish: sakkundig (sv), erfaren (sv) Turkish: becerikli (tr), ehliyetli (tr), kabiliyetli (tr), mahir (tr), mütehassıs (tr), usta (tr), uzman (tr), yeterli (tr)

Noun

proficient (plural proficients)

1. An expert.

Synonyms

• (expert): expert

Translations

expert

Dutch: expert (nl) Finnish: taituri (fi) German: Fachmann (de) m., Fachfrau (de) f., Meister (de) m., Meisterin (de) f.

Hindi: प्रवीण (hi) (pravīṇ) m. Turkish: usta (tr)

Related terms

• profit
• profitability
• profitable
• profiteer
• proficiency

External links

• proficient in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• proficient in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Latin

Verb

prōficient

1. third-person plural future active indicative of prōficiō