Where does “competently” come from?
Competently derives from Middle English competent plus the adverbial suffix -ly, from Old English -līċ, ultimately from Latin competens, the present participle of competere meaning to be suitable or adequate.
competently (English): In a competent manner
Definitions
- In a competent manner
Ancestry of “competently”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | competent | Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or... |
| 2 | French | compétent | competent |
| 3 | German | kompetent | competent |
| 4 | Italian | competente | competent; expert, qualified; having jurisdiction |
| 5 | Spanish | competente | competent; expert, qualified |
| 6 | Portuguese | competente | competent |
| 7 | Latin | competēns | meeting, coinciding, agreeing |
| 8 | Latin | competō | to come together, meet |
| 9 | Latin | cōn- | Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects |
| 10 | Latin | cum | with, along with; at; -fold |
| 11 | Old Latin | com | Alternative form of cum |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | kom | with, along, at |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóm | beside, near, by, with |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱe | Deictic particle, here; Post-positional... |
| 15 | Middle English | kyt | — |
| 16 | German | kitt | putty certain kinds of cement used for fixing e.g. window panes |
| 17 | Old High German | kuti | — |
| 18 | Proto-West Germanic | kwidu | gum, resin |
| 19 | Proto-Germanic | kweduz | resin |
| 20 | Proto-Indo-European | gʷet- | resin, gum; to say, speak |
| 21 | Proto-Indo-European | gū- | to bend; curve; arch; vault; to bow, bend, arch,... |