competence

In linguistics, an idealized conception of language, representing the system of grammatical rules which any speaker of a language subconsciously knows. It is contrasted with performance, the way in which sentences actually appear, containing ‘imperfections’ such as hesitations, false starts, and grammatical errors.

Competence (biology), a cell or a bacterium incorporating DNA into its genome Competence (human resources), a standardized requirement for an individual to properly perform a specific job Administrative incompetence, dysfunctional administrative behaviors that hinder attainment of organization goals Military incompetence, failures of members of the military Darwin Awards, death by incompetence Dunning-Kruger Syndrome, unskilled and unaware of it Hanlon's Razor, Never attribute to malice... Competence (law), the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings Incompetence (book), a novel by Red Dwarf co-creator Rob Grant