Be Ept

While screening resumes for a recent opening in my department, I encountered the misuse of inept for adept. Needless to say, the person who wrote they were inept in the particular requirement for the job I was filling was taken “at their word” and didn’t get the job. They made the mistake of using the wrong prefix.

The prefix “in-“ refers to a lack of the characteristic it modifies, as in inarticulate, insufficient, or indubitably.

Of course, the latter word raises the question “what happened to the original word that is modified? What happened to dubitably? It’s in the dictionary, but rarely used. And while I’ve heard people frequently be overwhelmed I’ve not heard of one being whelmed. It’s also in my dictionary but rarely used.

The word ept is not in my dictionary, nor have I heard anyone talk about being ept at something. So we have to discern its meaning from words from which it is formed.
The words formed by ept (inept and adept) have a quality of mastery about them. If one is inept it connotes being unable to perform even at an average ability some particular function. Incapable is a word with a similar meaning, but it can indicate being unable to perform either because of external or internal factors. Inept means being able to perform, but not as well as most people.

Adept is the opposite. It indicates a mastery of the function, and the dictionary defines is as expert or highly skilled. The word from which it comes is the past participle of the Latin word adipisci, which means to arrive at or pursue; the past participle is adeptus, and was used in middle Latin of alchemists claiming to have arrived at the philosopher’s stone.

Why do some words use “in-“ and some words use “un-“? The prefix “in-“ comes to us from Old French, with the initial negative connotation, whereas the prefix “un-“ comes from Old English.
As long as we’re on the subject, what about or “il-“, “im-“, or “ir-“ as a prefix of negativity? For me, it all makes sense most clearly when you try to say the words aloud. So “il-“ is often used when the word being modified begins with the letter L, “im-“ before words beginning with M, P, and B, and “ir-“ before words beginning with R. There are always, unproductively and unremittingly, exceptions.

So, while you may be dubitable or whelmed, you want to be adept, not inept at everything you do.