competent

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, medicine, of an organ, tissue, or system) Functionally in order; functioning adequately.

   a competent sphincter;   a competent cervix;   a competent immune system

5. (biology, of a cell wall) Permeable to foreign DNA.
6. (geology) Resistant to deformation or flow.

Antonyms

• (all senses): incompetent

Derived terms

• angiocompetent
• chemocompetent
• competently
• dyscompetent
• electrocompetent
• fibrocompetent
• hypercompetent
• immunocompetent
• incompetent
• melanocompetent
• multicompetent
• neurocompetent
• noncompetent
• non-incompetent (litotic form)
• omnicompetent
• osmocompetent
• osteocompetent
• precompetent
• retrocompetent
• rhizocompetent
• supercompetent
• thermocompetent
• ultracompetent

 

Related terms

• bicompetent
• competence
• competentness
• compete
• competition
• tricompetent

Translations

skilled

• Armenian: ձեռնհաս (hy) (jeṙnhas), կոմպետենտ (hy) (kompetent), կարող (hy) (karoġ), իրազեկ (hy) (irazek)
• Bengali: ওয়াকেফ (bn) (ōẇakeph)
• Bulgarian: вещ (bg) (vešt), способен (bg) (sposoben), компетентен (bg) (kompetenten)
• Catalan: competent
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 技艺娴熟的

• Dutch: bekwaam (nl), bevoegd (nl), capabel (nl), competent (nl)
• Esperanto: kompetenta (eo)
• Finnish: pätevä (fi), osaava (fi), etevä (fi), taitava (fi)
• Galician: competente (gl)
• German: kompetent (de)
• Hungarian: kompetens (hu), hozzáértő (hu), jártas (hu)
• Malay: cekap (ms)
• Maori: matatau, kaha (mi), toa (mi)
• Occitan: competent (oc)
• Persian: شایسته (fa) (šâyeste)
• Polish: kompetentny (pl)
• Portuguese: competente (pt)
• Russian: компете́нтный (ru) (kompeténtnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: comasach
• Spanish: competente (es)
• Ukrainian: компете́нтний (kompeténtnyj)

law: having jurisdiction or authority

• Armenian: իրավասու (hy) (iravasu)
• Bulgarian: компетентен (bg) (kompetenten), мерода́вен (bg) (merodáven)
• Catalan: competent
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有法定权力的

• Czech: příslušný (cs)
• Dutch: bevoegd (nl)
• Finnish: toimivaltainen
• French: compétent (fr)
• German: zuständig (de)
• Hungarian: illetékes (hu), kompetens (hu)
• Polish: właściwy (pl)
• Portuguese: competente (pt)
• Russian: компете́нтный (ru) (kompeténtnyj)

adequate for a purpose

• Finnish: käyttökelpoinen (fi)
• Macedonian: кадарен (kadaren)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin competentem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [kum.pəˈten]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kom.pəˈtent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kom.peˈtent]

Adjective

competent m or f (masculine and feminine plural competents)

1. competent (having sufficient skill)

   Antonym: incompetent

2. (law) competent (having jurisdiction or authority)

Derived terms

• competentment

Related terms

• competència
• competir
• incompetent

Further reading

• “competent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “competent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “competent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “competent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɔm.pəˈtɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: com‧pe‧tent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Adjective

competent (comparative competenter, superlative competentst)

1. competent

Declension

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

• competentie
• incompetent

Descendants

• → Indonesian: kompeten

Latin

Verb

competent

1. third-person plural future active indicative of competō

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin competēns.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

competent m (feminine singular competenta, masculine plural competents, feminine plural competentas)

1. competent

Derived terms

• competentament

Related terms

• competéncia
• incompetent

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French compétent, Latin competens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kom.peˈtent/

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

• competență
• competiție