competent
able to do something well enough
Roots
- com-: with, together, complete, or intensified
- pet / compete: seek, strive, rush toward, or fit together
Other words with the pet / compete root
- compete: to strive against others
Competent means fit for the task: able to meet what it asks.
A competent explanation does not show off; it solves the learner's problem.
Compete and competent share the older seek-or-strive root. Competent is not about rivalry in modern use; it is about meeting the demand well enough.