Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
competence (noun)1.
a sufficiency of means for the necessities and conveniences of life - provided his family with a comfortable competence Rex Ingamells
2.
the quality or state of being as - competent
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 6
