COMPETENT • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Competent

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/kˈɑmpətɪnt/ Listen

adjective

Competent adj.

Answering to all requirements; adequate; sufficient; suitable; capable; legally qualified; fit. "A competent knowledge of the world." "Competent age." "Competent statesmen." /"A competent witness."

Rightfully or properly belonging; incident; followed by to. (Rare, except in legal usage.) "That is the privilege of the infinite Author of things,... but is not competent to any finite being."

Synonyms: See Qualified.

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Etymology of 'Competent'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Competent" Quotes from Famous Books

... six lambs, and a ram." If there was no sacred significance in the observance of these lunar changes, why did the writer of the New Testament Epistle to the Colossians say, "Let no man judge you in respect of the new moon"? A competent scholar, in recognising this consociation of Hebrew religion with the moon's phases, rightly ascribes to it an earlier origin. Says Ewald: "To connect the annual festivals with the full moon, and to commence them in the evening, as though greeting her with ...

— Moon Lore • Timothy Harley

... any possible chance left them scrubbed, nobody spoke to him. Nobody in the street saw him walking to and fro in his young loneliness. There were men passing there with faces like Mr. Dassonville's, keen and competent, and lovely ladies in soft becoming wraps and bright winged hats—such hats! Peter would like to have hailed some of these as one immeasurably behind but still in the way, seized of that precious inward quality which manifests itself in competency and brightness. ...

— The Lovely Lady • Mary Austin

... telephones, water-works, &c., must all be judged by the localities which they serve and the amount of business they are likely to command. As per- manent investments it should be considered whether they are likely to suffer by supersession or opposition, and if they are managed by a trustworthy competent board of directors. ...

— Everybody's Guide to Money Matters • William Cotton, F.S.A.

... with the same formality,' said Mr Pluck—'whether I shall say myself that my name is Pluck, or whether I shall ask my friend Pyke (who being now regularly introduced, is competent to the office) to state for me, Mrs Nickleby, that my name is Pluck; whether I shall claim your acquaintance on the plain ground of the strong interest I take in your welfare, or whether I shall make myself known to you as the friend of Sir Mulberry Hawk—these, Mrs Nickleby, are ...

— The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby • Charles Dickens

... arises as to whether each farmer can make his own analyses. He cannot do so without long study and practice. The late Prof. Norton said that, at least two years' time would be necessary to enable a man to become competent to make a reliable analysis. When we reflect that a farmer may never need more than five or six analyses, we shall see that the time necessary to learn the art would be much more valuable than the cost of the analyses (at $5 or $10 each), setting aside the cost of apparatus, and the ...

— The Elements of Agriculture - A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools • George E. Waring

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