Etymologically
Log in

competent

Etymology and origin of the English word competent

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1398
Borrowed from
Old French competent via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (competō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˈkɒm.pɪ.tənt/, US /ˈkɑːm.pɪ.t̬ənt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English competent, borrowed from Old French competent (“sufficient, appropriate, suitable”) and directly Latin competēns, the present participle of competō (“to coincide, agree, be fit”) (see compete).[2][3][4][5][6] It keeps the classical Latin sense of the verb, while the English verb compete has a later one.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Suitable, sufficient: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew, in Barnhart; the late 14th century in Etymonline, about 1400 in the OED.[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Legally qualified is from 1483, in Caxton.[2][3] Suitable to a person's rank is from 1440, adequate in amount from about 1440, and moderate, reasonable from 1535.[7] Of persons, able or fit, it is first recorded in 1647.[2][7][3] In geology a stream is competent to carry fragments of a given size (1877).[7] Competence meant rivalry in 1594 and an adequate supply in 1597, in Shakespeare's 2 Henry IV.[2]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – suitable, sufficient.[2]
  • 1483 – legally qualified.[2]
  • 1535 – moderate, reasonable.[7]
  • 1594 – competence.[2]
  • 1647 – able, capable.[2][7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Having enough skill or knowledge; capable.
  2. Adequate for the purpose: a competent answer.
  3. (law) Legally qualified, as to give evidence.
  4. Belonging as a right, often with to.

Word family

  • competently
  • uncompetent
  • immunocompetent
  • incompetent
  • noncompetent
  • omnicompetent
  • ultracompetent

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Competent.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/competent. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·