Where does “competent” come from?
Competent comes from Middle English competent, from Old French competent, from Latin competens, the present participle of competo, meaning to strive together, from con- and peto, meaning to seek or aim.
competent (English): Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or...
Definitions
- Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or...
Ancestry of “competent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | compétent | competent |
| 2 | German | kompetent | competent |
| 3 | Italian | competente | competent; expert, qualified; having jurisdiction |
| 4 | Spanish | competente | competent; expert, qualified |
| 5 | Portuguese | competente | competent |
| 6 | Latin | competēns | — |
| 7 | Latin | competō | — |
| 8 | Latin | cōn- | — |
| 9 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 10 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 11 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 14 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 15 | German | kitt | — |
| 16 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 17 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 18 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 19 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |
Words derived from “competent”