compétent

Compétent is a French adjective meaning possessing the necessary knowledge, skills, or authority to perform a task or fulfill a function. It is used to describe people, organizations, or bodies that can act effectively within a given domain. The adjective agrees in gender and number: masculin compétent, féminin compétente; pluriel compétents, compétentes.

Etymology: The term comes from Latin competens, the present participle of competere, meaning "to be suitable" or "to fit together." In French, the sense has broadened to cover capability in professional, technical, or administrative contexts.

Usage: In everyday French, compétent describes someone with demonstrated ability, as in un médecin compétent or un professionnel compétent. In legal and administrative language, it also denotes jurisdiction or authority, as in une juridiction compétente or une autorité compétente. The construction peut être “compétent en” to express proficiency in a domain (compétent en informatique, compétent en droit).

Related terms and contrasts: The noun compétence means competence or an area of expertise. The related adjective is compétent; the negation is incompétent (masc.) / incompétente (fem.). Synonyms include capable, apte, qualifié, and adjetives like habile or efficace can be contextually close.