adept

English

Etymology

From French adepte, from Latin adeptus (“who has achieved”), the past participle of adipisci (“to attain”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US, adjective) IPA^(key): /əˈdɛpt/, /ˈæd.ɛpt/
• (Received Pronunciation, US, noun) IPA^(key): /ˈæd.ɛpt/, /ædˈɛpt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛpt

Adjective

adept (comparative more adept or adepter, superlative most adept or adeptest)

1. Well skilled; completely versed; thoroughly proficient
   • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

     Adept as she was, in all the arts of cunning and dissimulation, the girl Nancy could not wholly conceal the effect which the knowledge of the step she had taken, wrought upon her mind.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skillful

Antonyms

• inept

Derived terms

• adeptist
• adeptly
• adeptness
• adeptship
• inadept
• unadept

Translations

well skilled

Bulgarian: умел (bg) (umel), вещ (bg) (vešt), опитен (bg) (opiten), кадъ́рен (bg) (kadǎ́ren) Chinese: Mandarin: 擅長 / 擅长 (zh) (shàncháng), 熟練 / 熟练 (zh) (shúliàn) Czech: znalý, schopný (cs), kvalifikovaný (cs) Dutch: bekwaam (nl) Esperanto: lerta Finnish: pätevä (fi), asiantunteva French: expert (fr) German: geschickt (de), fähig (de), geübt (de), befähigt (de), erfahren (de), versiert (de), bewandert (de), eingeweiht (de), kundig (de), gewandt (de) Hindi: प्रवीण (hi) (pravīṇ) Hungarian: szakértő (hu) Maori: kaiaka Polish: biegły (pl) Portuguese: adepto (pt) Russian: зна́ющий (ru) (znájuščij), све́дущий (ru) (svéduščij), о́пытный (ru) (ópytnyj), уме́лый (ru) (umélyj) Spanish: experto (es), hábil (es), fiebrú m (Caribbean), fiebrúa f (Caribbean) Swedish: skicklig (sv) Turkish: becerikli (tr), mahir (tr), usta (tr), ehil (tr)

Noun

adept (plural adepts)

1. One fully skilled or well versed in anything; a proficient

   adepts in philosophy

   • 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge:

     When he had achieved this task, he applied himself to the acquisition of stable language, in which he soon became such an adept, that he would perch outside my window and drive imaginary horses with great skill, all day.

   • 1894-95, Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure:

     Others, alas, had an instinct towards artificiality in their very blood, and became adepts in counterfeiting at the first glimpse of it.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:skilled person

Translations

one fully skilled or well versed in anything

Bulgarian: специалист (bg) (specialist), познавач (bg) (poznavač) Chinese: Mandarin: 熟練的人 / 熟练的人 (shúliàn de ren), 專家 / 专家 (zh) (zhuānjiā) Czech: expert (cs) m, mistr (cs) m Dutch: expert (nl) m, deskundige (nl) m or f Esperanto: adepto (eo) Finnish: asiantuntija (fi) French: expert (fr) m German: Meister (de) m Hindi: प्रवीण (hi) m (pravīṇ) Hungarian: szakértő (hu), mestere valaminek Latin: adeptus m, adepta f Maori: tautōhito Norwegian: adept m Polish: ekspert (pl) m, ekspertka (pl) f, mistrz (pl) m, mistrzyni (pl) f Portuguese: adepto (pt) m Russian: знато́к (ru) m (znatók), экспе́рт (ru) m (ekspért), специали́ст (ru) m (specialíst), специали́стка (ru) f (specialístka), ма́стер (ru) m (máster) Spanish: experto (es) m, experta (es) f

Related terms

• apt
• aptitude

References

• “adept”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• taped, pated, PTAed

Kashubian

Alternative forms

• adepta

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish adept.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.dɛpt/
• Rhymes: -adɛpt
• Syllabification: a‧dept

Noun

adept m pers (female equivalent adeptka)

2. apprentice, trainee; novice (person training in a given field or new in a given field)

   Synonyms: pòczãtnik, debiutant, (archaic) swiéżi

3. follower, supporter (supporter of a doctrine or philosophical school)

   Synonym: przëstojnik

Further reading

• Jan Trepczyk (1994), “adept”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “adept”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
• “adept”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin adeptus (“who has achieved”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑˈdɛpt/
• Rhymes: -ɛpt

Noun

adept m (definite singular adepten, indefinite plural adepter, definite plural adeptene)

1. an adept (person)

References

• “adept” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “adept” in The Ordnett Dictionary

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin adeptus (“who has achieved”). The adjective is of the same origin, though likely through English adept.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑˈdɛpt/

Noun

adept m (definite singular adepten, indefinite plural adeptar, definite plural adeptane)

1. an adept, skillful person
2. an inductee to an order, a secret society or a science
3. (historical) an alchemist
4. a very knowledgeable person
5. (by extension, derogatory) a know-it-all, a self-declared expert
6. a student of a craft

Adjective

adept (indefinite singular adept, definite singular and plural adepte)

1. adept (very skilled)

References

• “adept” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.