competent

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See also: compétent and compètent

English

Etymology

From Middle English competent, conpetent, from Old French competent (modern French compétent), from Latin competens, competentem, present participle of competō (“coincide, be equal to, be capable of”). Compare Dutch competent (“competent”), German kompetent (“competent”), Danish kompetent (“competent”).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (US)(file)
  • IPA(key): /ˈkɒmpətənt/

Adjective

competent (comparative more competent, superlative most competent)

  1. Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.
    He is a competent skier and an expert snowboarder.
    • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:
      I believe in that myself because it has been explained by competent men as the convolutions of the grey matter.
    • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:
      That as a competent keyless citizen he had proceeded energetically from the unknown to the known through the incertitude of the void.
  2. (law) Having jurisdiction or authority over a particular issue or question.
    For any disagreements arising from this contract, the competent court shall be the Springfield Circuit Court.
    judicial authority having competent jurisdiction
  3. Adequate for the purpose
    • 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 67:
      For if they [birds] had been Viviparous, the burthen of their womb, if they had brought forth any competent number at a time, had been ſo big and heavy, that their wings would have failed them, and ſo every body would have had the wit to catch the Old one.
  4. (biology, of a cell wall) Permeable to foreign DNA.

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin competēns.

Pronunciation

Adjective

competent m or f (masculine and feminine plural competents)

  1. competent (having sufficient skill)
    Antonym: incompetent
  2. (law) competent (having jurisdiction or authority)

Related terms

Further reading

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch competent, from Middle French competent, from Latin competēns.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌkɔm.pəˈtɛnt/
  • Hyphenation: com‧pe‧tent
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Adjective

competent (comparative competenter, superlative competentst)

  1. competent

Inflection

Declension of competent
uninflected competent
inflected competente
comparative competenter
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial competent competenter het competentst
het competentste
indefinite m./f. sing. competente competentere competentste
n. sing. competent competenter competentste
plural competente competentere competentste
definite competente competentere competentste
partitive competents competenters —

Derived terms

Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) competent

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of competō

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French compétent, Latin competens.

Pronunciation

Adjective

competent m or n (feminine singular competentă, masculine plural competenți, feminine and neuter plural competente)

  1. competent

Declension

Declension of competent
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite competent competentă competenți competente
definite competentul competenta competenții competentele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite competent competente competenți competente
definite competentului competentei competenților competentelor

Related terms

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