competence

See also compétence

English

Noun

competence (countable and uncountable; plural competences)

  1. (uncountable) The quality or state of being competent, i.e. able or suitable for a general role.
    • 2005, Lies Sercu and Ewa Bandura, Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence: An International Investigation:
      Teachers are now required to teach intercultural communicative competence.
  2. (countable) The quality or state of being able or suitable for a particular task; the quality or state of being competent for a particular task.
    • 1961, National Council for Elementary Science (U.S.), Science Education:
      What professional competences do science teachers need?
  3. A sustainable income.
    • Alexander Pope
      Reason's whole pleasure, all the joys of sense, / Lie in three words — health, peace, and competence.
    • 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, chapter 17
      “money can only give happiness where there is nothing else to give it. Beyond a competence, it can afford no real satisfaction, as far as mere self is concerned.”
  4. (countable) In law, the legal authority to deal with a matter.
    That question is out with the competence of this court and must be taken to a higher court.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

the quality or state of being competent for a general role.
the quality or state of being competent for a particular task.
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

References

  • “competence” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
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Last modified on 29 March 2013, at 15:28