I love words :-))

and I was prompted to define a word used at a coffee morning I have just attended. Whilst our beautiful England language lasts (though I would not give it more than a couple of generations) let us enjoy the subtleties. I find the most economical way of understanding a word is looking at its etymology.

So, down to business….

Efficient – what dos it mean?
This word first appeared in the late 14th century meaning ‘making, producing immediative effect, active, effective’ from the Latin efficare ” workout, accomplish. The meaning was refined from about 1787 meaning ” productive, skilled”. Efficiency is the power to accomplish something from the word efficientem. From a more mechanical point of view you could say it’s the ratio of useful work done to energy expended.

It has no moral implication. funeral operators can dispatch bodies efficiently. And alligator can kill its prey efficiently. A washing machine is an efficient way of cleaning clothes. The word is silent on motives, morals, and can be good, bad or indifferent.

Proficiency – what does this mean?
From 1580’s from Latin proficientem (nominative proficiens), present participle of proficere “to make progress, go forward, effect, accomplish, be useful,” from pro “forward” (see pro-) + combining form of facere “to make, do”. The main modern sense of “degree of advancement attained in some branch of knowledge, art, science, etc.” is from 1630s  We can come more proficient or show more proficiency when we become skilled at a particular task “well versed in any business, art, science etc.”

What about competence?
1630s as “sufficiency of means for living at ease,” from French compétence, from Latin competentia “meeting together, agreement, symmetry,” from competens, present participle of competere, especially in its earlier sense of “fall together, come together, be convenient or fitting”
Meaning “adequate range of capacity or ability, sufficiency to deal with what is at hand” is from 1790. Legal sense “capability or fitness to be heard in court” is from 1708.

Are these three descriptors interchangeable?
I think we can separate efficient from proficient and competent. It is primarily about the ratio between energy input and output. Proficiency and competency implies knowledge of the subject, it’s appropriateness and an in depth knowledge.

I would almost go for competence as the ultimate complement. Competence implies efficiency and proficiency all in one. When we speak in modern terms of being legally competent, then the  implication is that the other two descriptors are present. The word as I have used it is that competence is a slightly under stated way of describing a  persons performance. It is not so much a judgment but an valuation of all the qualities together

Dear reader, what do you think?