Etymograph

English

competence

Competence comes from Late Latin competentia ‘agreement, symmetry, correspondence’, and goes back to Latin competēns.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompetēns1‘meeting, agreeing’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompetentia2‘agreement, symmetry, correspondence’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600compétence2
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1733competence2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin competentia
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English competence
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcompetēnsWiktionary, Latin competentia‘meeting, agreeing’
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcompetentiaWiktionary, English competence‘agreement, symmetry, correspondence’
  3. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600compétenceWiktionary, English competence
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1733competenceWiktionary, English competence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1733, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man. […]: “Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, /…”

Linked words

through Latin competēns ‘meeting, agreeing’

incompetent, 3 more

Today it means

noun The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “competence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin competentia. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin competēns / competence

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