proficiency

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /prəˈfɪʃənsi/ UK /prəˈfɪʃənsi/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a high degree of skill or competence

He demonstrated proficiency in three languages.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a high degree of skill or... competence skill expertise mastery ability aptitude dexterity

Opposites

incompetence ineptitude inability

Word family

Related forms proficient profit efficient

Etymology

From proficient (from Latin proficiens, present participle of proficere 'to make progress, accomplish', from pro- 'forward' + facere 'to make, do') + the suffix -cy.

proficere Latin facere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# proficiency

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** prəˈfɪʃənsi
**IPA (UK):** prəˈfɪʃənsi

## Meanings
1. a high degree of skill or competence

## Examples
- He demonstrated proficiency in three languages.

## Synonyms
- competence
- skill
- expertise
- mastery
- ability
- aptitude
- dexterity

## Antonyms
- incompetence
- ineptitude
- inability

## Related Forms
- proficient
- profit
- efficient

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: proficere
- Root: facere

## Etymology
From proficient (from Latin proficiens, present participle of proficere 'to make progress, accomplish', from pro- 'forward' + facere 'to make, do') + the suffix -cy.

## AI Etymology
Proficiency comes from proficient (from Latin proficiens, present participle of proficere 'to make progress, accomplish', from pro- 'forward' + facere 'to make, do') + the suffix -cy. The historical chain includes Latin proficere and Latin facere. The quoted older senses, "to make progress, accomplish", "forward", and "to make, do", supply the semantic anchors for proficiency. The formation is best read as suffixal, compound, participial, and borrowed: the word proficiency carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a high degree of skill or competence". Related English forms include proficient, profit, and efficient. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

proficiency

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback