different between competency vs qualification

English

Etymology

From French compétence.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k?mp?t?nsi/

Noun

competency (countable and uncountable, plural competencies)

1. (obsolete) A sufficient supply (of).
   • 1612, John Smith, Proceedings of the English Colonie in Virginia, in Kupperman 1988, p. 178:

     the next day they returned unsuspected, leaving their confederates to follow, and in the interim, to convay them a competencie of all things they could […]

   • 1892, Ambrose Bierce, Tales of Soldiers and Civilians - A Holy Terror

     […] it would appear that before taking this precaution Mr. Bree must have had the thrift to remove a modest competency of the gold […]

2. (obsolete) A sustainable income.
   • 1915, W.S. Maugham, Of Human Bondage, chapter 116:

     He had heard people speak contemptuously of money: he wondered if they had ever tried to do without it. He knew that the lack made a man petty, mean, grasping; it distorted his character and caused him to view the world from a vulgar angle; when you had to consider every penny, money became of grotesque importance: you needed a competency to rate it at its proper value.

3. The ability to perform some task; competence.
   • 1796, Edmund Burke, Letters on a Regicide Peace

     The loan demonstrates, in regard to instrumental resources, the competency of this kingdom to the assertion of the common cause.
4. (law) Meeting specified qualifications to perform.
5. (linguistics) Implicit knowledge of a language’s structure.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skill

Translations

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French qualification in the 1540s, which in turn derives from Medieval Latin qu?lific?ti?. Surface analysis: qual(ify) +? -ification.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?kw?l?f??ke???n/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?kw?l?f??ke???n/
• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

qualification (countable and uncountable, plural qualifications)

1. The act or process of qualifying for a position, achievement etc. [from 16th c.]

   Qualification for this organization is extraordinarily difficult.

2. An ability or attribute that aids someone's chances of qualifying for something; specifically, completed professional training. [from 17th c.]

   What are your qualifications for this job?

3. (Britain) A certificate, diploma, or degree awarded after successful completion of a course, training, or exam.
4. A clause or condition which qualifies something; a modification, a limitation. [from 16th c.]

   I accept your offer, but with the following qualification.

5. (obsolete) A quality or attribute. [17th-19th c.]
   • 1714, Bernard Mandeville, The Fable of the Bees:

     To shew, that these Qualfications, which we all pretend to be asham'd of, are the great support of a flourishing Society has been the subject of the foregoing Poem.

Derived terms

• disqualification
• qualification problem

Related terms

• qualify
• certification

Translations

See also

• clarification

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.li.fi.ka.sj??/

Noun

qualification f (plural qualifications)

1. qualification (all senses)

Related terms

• qualifier

Further reading

• “qualification” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).