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incompetent

 [in-kom-pi-tuhnt]   Origin

in·com·pe·tent

   [in-kom-pi-tuhnt]
adjective
1.
not competent; lacking qualification or ability; incapable: an incompetent candidate.
2.
characterized by or showing incompetence: His incompetent acting ruined the play.
3.
Law.
a.
being unable or legally unqualified to perform specified acts or to be held legally responsible for such acts.
b.
inadmissible, as evidence.
noun
4.
an incompetent person; a mentally deficient person.
5.
Law. a person lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.

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Incompetent is always a great word to know.
So is exception. Does it mean:
an objection, as to a ruling of the court in the course of a trial
willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court
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Origin:
1590–1600; < Late Latin incompetent- (stem of incompetēns) unsuitable. See in-3, competent

Related forms
in·com·pe·tent·ly, adverb

Synonyms
1. unqualified, inadequate, unfit. See incapable.

Antonyms
1. able, qualified.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
incompetent (ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt)
 
—adj
1.  not possessing the necessary ability, skill, etc to do or carry out a task; incapable
2.  marked by lack of ability, skill, etc
3.  law not legally qualified: an incompetent witness
4.  (of rock strata, folds, etc) yielding readily to pressure so as to undergo structural deformation
 
—n
5.  an incompetent person
 
in'competence
 
—n
 
in'competency
 
—n
 
in'competently
 
—adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

incompetent
1611, "insufficient," from Fr. incompetent, from L.L. incompetentem, from in- "not" + L. competentem (see competent). Sense of "lacking qualification or ability" first recorded 1635.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

incompetent in·com·pe·tent (ĭn-kŏm'pĭ-tənt)
adj.

  1. Inadequate for or unsuited to a particular purpose or application.

  2. Incapable of proper functioning.

  3. Not qualified in legal terms.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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