Both Uses of
competent
in
Ulysses, by James Joyce
- I believe in that myself because it has been explained by competent men as the convolutions of the grey matter.†
Chpt 16 *competent = sufficiently capable
- That as a competent keyless citizen he had proceeded energetically from the unknown to the known through the incertitude of the void.†
Chpt 17
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) 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.