[com.pe.tence] n (1632) 1: a sufficiency of means for the necessities and conveniences of life "provided his family with a comfortable ~ --Rex Ingamells"
2: the quality or state of being competent: as a: the properties of an embryonic field that enable it to respond in a characteristic manner to an organizer b: readiness of bacteria to undergo genetic transformation
3: the knowledge that enables a person to speak and understand a language--compare performance