All 4 Uses of
competent
in
Great Expectations
- I recalled the hopeless circumstances by which she had been surrounded in the miserable little shop and the miserable little noisy evening school, with that miserable old bundle of incompetence always to be dragged and shouldered.†
Chpt 17incompetence = inability to do things sufficientlystandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in incompetence means not and reverses the meaning of competence. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- He gave the medical testimony, in pointed imitation of our local practitioner; and he piped and shook, as the aged turnpike-keeper who had heard blows, to an extent so very paralytic as to suggest a doubt regarding the mental competency of that witness.
Chpt 18competency = legal capability
- He may be too proud to let any one take him out of a place that he is competent to fill, and fills well and with respect.
Chpt 19competent = sufficiently capable
- "Drummle," said I, "you are not competent to give advice on that subject."
Chpt 43 *
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.