Both Uses

competent
in
David Copperfield
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I am aware that I am merely a female, and that a masculine judgement is usually considered more competent to the discussion of such questions; still I must not forget that, when I lived at home with my papa and mama, my papa was in the habit of saying, "Emma's form is fragile, but her grasp of a subject is inferior to none."†
Chpt 28-30

competent = sufficiently capable
With your branch of the subject, on which alone you are competent to speak, I should not think of interfering.†
Chpt 40-42 *

Definitions:

(1) (competent)
capable (able to do something in a generally satisfactory manner) -- sometimes specifically to have legal capability
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
In the field of law, competent has the specialized meaning of being legally qualified to do something such as to be mentally fit to make reasonable decisions; or to have jurisdiction or authority to take an action.

In classic literature, a competency can refer to having an income or assets to support living expenses.