compensation 
plication of money paid us compensation for the compul- 
sory acquisition of cumnion hinds, etc. =Syn. 2. Reward, 
remuneration, requital, utiftaotton, indemniticatioii, rc- 
iriilmrsenient, rcjiurutiMii. 
compensative (kom-pen'sa-tiv), a. and n. [= 
F. coiii)M-ii.tniiJ' = I'g. finui>i ii^niirn, < LL. com- 
pensatiruK, < L. cinii/irnxiitiix, pp. of com inn- 
sore, compensate: sec com/n iistitc.] I. a. Mak- 
ing amends or compensation. 
The compenmtioe justice of II I.I drama. 
Iliulitt, Lit. of lUign of Elizabeth. 
II. . Tliat which compensates; compensa- 
tion. [Karo. ] 
This is the sorry <-iui>''>i*ntii->'. Lamb, To Barton. 
compensativeness (kom-pen'sa-tiv-nes), n. 
Fitness or ivailinrss to make amends. 7>'/ </'//. 
compensator (kom'pen-sa-tor), n. [= F. </- 
/ICltK/l/l 111' = S]>. I'g. (/ H.llllllll- = It. ,-<(// H- 
satorc, < NL. *ci>ni)>i-n>i<iti>r, < L. compensare, 
coiiipeiiMite: sec i-nmin nxnh . \ One who or that 
which compimsiilos. .spn ill. ally -(a) A mai 
tn;iv^ of snlt iron -.,, pl.n , ,1 ,i , |,, nelltlali/e tin 1 etlecN of 
local attraction on Ilic needle of a compass. Also called 
mmrtiini /'In!,-. ('.) Iii.WM-iniiH/.. a device foreqnalizillg 
the action of the exhauster which draws the gas from the 
retorts. 
compensatory (koiii-pen'sa-to-ri), a. [< com- 
iniixntr + -nri/ ; = V . compmuamn, cr. co/- 
penmitiir.} Serving to compensate or as com- 
pensation ; making amends ; requiting. 
Tribute which is not penal nor compemiatorit. 
Jer. Taylor, Rule of Conscience, HI. 2. 
All the compensatory forces of air and water. 
De Quincey, Herodotus. 
Compensatory damages, in Inn; damages estimated as 
an equivalent for the injury, in contradistinction tupuni- 
tiw or I'iinlirt/,:- .lnni'r'it'*, awarded by way of punishment 
for wilful wrong. 
compenset (kom-pens'), r. t. [< ME. compensen, 
< OF. competmer, V. campenser = Pr. compensar, 
eompessar= Sp. Pg. compennnr = It. compensare, 
< L. competisare, co/i/>enarc,balance, make good, 
compensate: see compensate.] To recompense ; 
compensate ; counterbalance. 
The weight of the quicksilver doth not compeme the 
weight of a stone. Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
compert, . A Middle English form of com- 
peer 1 . 
comperaget, . [< comper + -nr/e.] Gossiping; 
familiar friendship. Coles, 1717. 
comperendinatet, e. [< L. comperendinatus, 
pp. of comiicrfiitliiinre, cite a defendant to a new 
trial on the third following day or later, < com- 
perendinus (sc. dies, day), the third following 
day: see compcrendinous.] To delay. Bailey. 
comperendinoust, <> [< L. comperendinus (sc. 
dies, day), the third following day, < com-, with, 
+ perendinus, of day after to-morrow, < peren- 
die, on the day after to-morrow, < "perum (= 
Oscan perum = Or. ntpav = Skt. param, akin 
to per-, pre-, pro-, para-, peri-, q. v.), beyond, 
+ dies, day: see <iini.\ Prolonged; deferred; 
postponed, liailcy. 
compernaget, . [ME., appar.< compere, comper, 
camper, companion (see compeer 1 ), +-n-+ -age; 
or else for *comi>enage, companage, < OF. com- 
panage, compaiiinagrjcompany (cf . companage) : 
see company. Cf. comperagc.'] Company. 
A thing I shall you declare truly, 
Ar I me departe fro your compe>*nage, 
To ende that all thereof haue memory. 
Rom. o/Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3706. 
compersiont, . [ME. : see comparison.'] An 
obsolete form of comparison. Court of Love. 
compesce (kom-pes'), v. t.; pret. and pp. COM- 
pesced, ppr. compescing. [< L. compescere, fas- 
ten together, confine, curb, < compes, conpes, a 
fetter, < com-, together, + pes (ped-) = E./oot.] 
To hold in check; restrain; curb. Carlyle. 
compestert, . t. [A law term, < OF. composter, 
compound, also prob. compost, < ML. compos- 
tare, compost: see compost, '. Prob. confused 
with composture, compost (of which no verb 
use appears), and perhaps (with regard to the 
vowel e for o) with pasture.] To manure 
(land): said of cattle. 
No other beasts ought to be put Into the Commons but 
those of the tenant of the land to whleh it is appendant 
or those which he takes to compettter his land. 
Argument in Rumtiey v. Rowden, 1 Ventris, 18. 
As if it bad been said Levant and couchant, for when 
they [eattle | are appurtenant, they shall be intended to 
Plow, Manure, r<'*/i/ xfer, and Feed upon the Land. 
Coke, in Mors v. Webbe (152), 2 Brownlow (and Oolds- 
[borough), p. 298. 
compete (kom-pef), v. i. ; pret. and pp. com- 
peted, ppr. ('((// //(/. [= Sp. Pg. competir = It. 
competere, compete (cf. F. cmnpeter = Sp. coin- 
peter, have a fair claim to), < L. competere, 
strive after something in company with or to- 
gether (the lit. sense), usually meet or come 
1145 
together, coincide, agree, be fit or suitable, < 
rum-, together, + ]>etcre, seek: sci- //,/<.,. 
llenoe (I'riiill L. i-iiili/nli n : i I-UI/I/H l<nl, i-iim/n- 
lilinii, inn! film/,/ titiir.] To seek or strivi- fur 
the same thing us another ; enter into compe- 
tition or rivalry ; vie: wtthybr before the thing 
sought and u'itli before the person or tiling 
rivaled. 
The sages of antiquity will not dre to compete vilh the 
Inspired authors. Milnrr. 
Mow is it that the United States, formerly a in.:. 
power of the flnit class, haa Dov no ihlpi or steamers Unit 
can pi"iiia)ih >'"i,>i"t:' tr the carrying of even its own 
e\|.ort? D. A. H'rll*, .Merchant Marine, ,. l 
competence, competency (kom'pe-term, -ten- 
si), tt. [= F. I'ltnijn It >< ^ Sp. 1'^. fntnln t> ii- 
l'III = It. mmprtrilZII, < ML. I-IHH/H li'iillll, colll]ie- 
ti'iirc, litucss, in L. agreement, conjunctiun, < 
competen(t-)8, ppr., being fit, competent: see 
i-iiiii/nli'iit iiinl -i in-i , -niri/.] 1. The state of be- 
ing competent; fitness; suitableness; adequate- 
ness : as, there is no doubt of his competence for 
the task. 
At present, we tnist a man with making con^tii 
on less proof of competence than we should demand before 
we gave him our shoe to iit< h. 
Luioell, Study Windows, p. 87. 
We are ever in danger of exaggerating the competence of 
a new discovery. 3. Ward, Eiicyc. Brit, XX. 58, note. 
2. Adequate authority or qualification ; range 
of capacity or ability ; the sphere of action or 
judgment within which one is competent. 
To niaster*exhaustively the English of our own time Is 
beyond the competency of any one man. 
F. Halt, Mod. Eng.,p. 97. 
It Is not my business, and does not lie within my com- 
petency, to say what the Hebrew text does, and what it 
does not, signify. Huxley, Amer. Addresses, p. 19. 
3. In the law of evidence: (a) Legal capacity 
or fitness to be heard in court, as distinguished 
from credibility or sufficiency, because the 
question whether the evidence shall be heard 
is usually determined before considering its 
weight. Thus, a witness may be competent, although 
unworthy of belief ; evidence may lie competent, although 
not alone sufficient even if believed, (ft) Legal right 
or authority; power or capacity to take cogni- 
zance of a cause: as, the competency of a judge 
or court to examine and decide. 
Elizabeth . . . Induced the parliament to pass a law, 
enacting that whoever should deny the coinixtrncy of 
the reigning sovereign, with the assent of the states of the 
realm, to alter the succession, should suffer death as a 
traitor. ilacaulay. 
4. Sufficiency ; such a quantity as is sufficient ; 
e8pecially,property, means of subsistence, or 
income sufficient to furnish the necessaries and 
conveniences of life, without superfluity. 
That which is a Competency for one Man, is not enough 
for another. Selden, Table-Talk, p. as. 
Seven happy years of health and competence, 
And mutual love and honourable toil. 
Tennyson, Enoch Ardcn. 
competent (kom'pe-tent), a. [= D. Dan. kom- 
petfnt = G. Sw. competent, < OF. competent, F. 
competent = Pr. competent = Sp. Pg. It. cornpe- 
tente, < L. competen(t-)s, in LL. as adj., corre- 
sponding to, suitable, competent, prop. ppr. of 
competere (> F. computer, etc.), be sufficient, also 
strive after, etc. : see compere.] 1. Answering 
all requirements ; suitable ; fit ; sufficient or ade- 
quate for the purpose : as, competent supplies of 
food and clothing; an army competent to the de- 
fense of the kingdom. 
To kepe hir fest in competent place be the alderman and 
maistres assigned. Englith (,VMs (1;. E. T. 8.), p. 445. 
His indignation derives itself out of a very competent 
Injury. Shak., T. N., lit 4. 
Has he a competent sum there in the bag 
To buy Uie goods within ? 
B. Jmson, Alchemist, iii. 2. 
He that can love his friend with this noble ardour will 
in a competent degree affect all. 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, ii. 6. 
2. Having ability or capacity ; properly quali- 
fied : as, a competent bookkeeper. 
As to the particular bounds or extent of it [the kingdom 
of Tonquin), I cannot be a competent judge, coming to it 
by Sea, and going up directly to Caehao. 
Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 81. 
Let us first consider how competent we are for the office. 
Government of the Tongue. 
The atom or molecule which is competent to intercept 
the calorific waves is, in the same degree, co?npftent to 
generate them. Tyndall, Radiation, 14. 
3. In law, having legal capacity or qualifica- 
tion : as, a competent judge or court ; a competent 
witness. In a judge or court it implies right or author- 
ity to hear and determine ; in a witness it implies a legal 
capacity to testify. See competence, 3. 
Even before it is clearly known whether the innovation 
Lie damageable or not, the judge is competent to issue a 
competitory 
prohibition to innovate, until the |xiint can be dettr- 
juiix .1. xiclde Vaux. 
Some nienilH-ra had Ijefore suggested that seven suites 
m/iri'-nt to Hie ratification |.if a treaty]. 
Jeffertun, Autobio;- 
4. liightfiilly or lawfully In-lunging; pertain- 
ing by right ; permissible : followed by tit. 
lh..i is the privilege of tli. infinite Author of things, 
lio never ulumbcrs nor sleeps, but it not . 
any finite Iw-ing. l^trkr. 
It is not cmnpetfnt to the defendant to allege fraud in 
the |,].,li,tlll. 
tii'lled bin buslnes* by night and by day . . . until 
be bud made a tine reputation ; and then it was ro/>< 
tn him to rest. It. 11. lUarkiiiiirr, L-mia UIKUII-, p 74. 
Competent and omitted, in Scot* laa>, said of pleas 
which nnijit have In-t-n inniiitaiiu-d, but have not been 
stated. - Syn. 1. .fiigicirnl. etc. See adn/uate.~ 2. Pittti, 
competent (kom'pe-tent), n. One of the com- 
|ii-ti-nti-> ( hicli see). 
competentes (kom-pe-ten'tfiz), . /il. [ LL.. pi. 
of L. i-inni'i t* "(t-)n, ppr. of competere, compete: 
see cumin li.] In the early church, the more 
advanced catechumens, who had given in their 
names as applicants for baptism on the next 
stated occasion. Before this, while undergoing their 
preparatory ]uhation. they were culleil nwl,- 
en (In Latin amlienla, hearers, or rudet, unskilled; In 
' -: , . K the "TtAi7T<poi, or less perfect). 
competently (kom'pe-tent-li), adv. In a com- 
ix tent manner; sufficiently ; adequately; suit- 
ably; fitly; rightly. 
Some places require men competently endowed. Walton. 
My friend is now . . . competently rich. 
OoUnmth, The Bee, No. 2. 
competiblet (kom-pet'i-bl), a. An improper 
form of compatible. 
It is not competiole with the grace of God so much as to 
Incline any man to do evil. flammonil, Fundamentals. 
competiblenesst (kom-pet'i-bl-nes), n. An im- 
proper form of compatibleness. 
competition (kom-pe-tish'on), n. [= F. com- 
etition = Sp. competicion = Pg. competicSo.t 
L. competitio(n-), an agreement, rivalry, < L. 
competere, pp. competitus, compete: see com- 
pete."] 1. The act of seeking or endeavoring to 
gain what another is endeavoring to gain at the 
same time ; common contest or striving for the 
same object ; strife for superiority ; rivalry : as, 
the i-'nnjn titinn of two candidates for an office. 
Formerly it was sometimes followed by to, now 
always by for, before the thing sought. 
Competition to the crown there Is none, nor can be. 
Bacon. 
There is no competition but /or the second place. 
Dryden. 
The competition would be, not which should yield the 
least to promote the common good, but which should yield 
the most. Cathoun, Works, I. 69. 
2. A trial of skill proposed as a test of supe- 
riority or comparative fitness. 3. In Scots 
law, a contest which arises on bankruptcy be- 
tween creditors claiming in virtue of their re- 
spective securities or diligences. =8yn. 1. Rivalry, 
etc. See emulation. 
competitive (kom-pet'i-tiv), a. [< L. as if *com- 
peMitus,<. competitor, pp. otcompettre, compete : 
see compete.] Pertaining to or involving com- 
petition ; characterized by or requiring compe- 
tition; competing. 
The co-operative in lieu of the competitive principle. 
Quarterly Rec. 
The educational abomination of desolation of the pres- 
ent day is the stimulation of young people to work at nigh 
pressure by incessant competitive examinations. 
Huxley, Tech. Education. 
competitor (kom-pet'i-tqr), n. [= F. compe'ti- 
teur = Sp. Pg" competifitir It. competitore, < 
L. competitor, a rival (in law, a plaintiff), < 
competere, pp. competitus, compete: see com- 
pete."] 1. One who competes; one who con- 
tends for and endeavors to obtain what another 
seeks at the same time, or claims what another 
claims; a rival. 
How furious and impatient they be, 
And cannot brook competitor! In love. 
Shak., lit. And., ii. 1. 
Where kings were fair comjietitort for honour, 
Thou shouldst have come up to him, there have fought him. 
Fletcher (and another), Kalse One, ii. 1. 
2t. One who competes with another in zeal for 
the same cause ; a zealous associate or confed- 
erate ; a comrade. 
Thou, my brother, my competitor 
In top of all design, my mate in empire. 
Shot., A. and C., T. 1. 
Every hour more competitor* 
Flock to the rebels, and their power grows strong. 
Shak., Rich. III., iv. 4. 
competitory (kom-pet'i-to-ri), a. [< L. competi- 
tua (see competitor) + -orj.] Acting or done in 
