competently

the adverb 'competently' is built upon the adjective 'competent', which entered english from old french, tracing back to the latin verb 'competere'. this latin verb is a compound of 'com-' (meaning 'together') and 'petere' (meaning 'to aim, seek'), thus carrying the original sense of 'coming together, being suitable or adequate'. the '-ent' suffix was added to form the latin present participle 'competens', which evolved into an adjective denoting the quality of being suitably qualified. finally, the old english adverbial suffix '-ly' was appended, creating a word that describes the manner of performing an action with adequate skill and capability.

Structure: compet (suitable, capable) + ent (adjective suffix) + ly (adverb suffix) compet originates from latin 'competere', meaning 'to be suitable, capable'. the suffix -ent is from latin '-ent-', a participial suffix forming adjectives meaning 'being in a state of'. the suffix -ly is from old english '-lice', forming adverbs from adjectives.