non-efficientadj.n.
/ˌnɒnᵻˈfɪʃnt/, U.S. /ˌnɑnəˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/, /ˌnɑniˈfɪʃ(ə)nt/ A. adj.† 2. Of a soldier, esp. a volunteer: that has failed to meet a certain standard during training. Obsolete. rare.
1. That does not produce effects; that is not efficient or effective; inefficient.
ΚΠ
1852 N.Y. Jrnl. Pharmacy 1 292 I have detected in most of the sulphate of quinine lately imported from abroad, more or less of this non-officinal, and..non-efficient substance yclept quinidine.
1891 Mind 16 339 A theory which relates pleasure-pain to the efficient or non-efficient action of a brain-organ.
1913 Amer. Polit. Sci. Rev. 7 73 It is in..the gradual displacement of non-efficient by efficient organizations, that modern war plays its part.
1959 Amer. Econ. Rev. 49 374 We are not surprised at entrepreneurial behavior which is nonefficient in the narrow, pecuniary sense.
1996 Jrnl. Operational Res. Soc. 47 1444 The method works most reliably when there are a large number of producers and it points up non-efficient producers.
ΚΠ
1884 Manch. Examiner 4 Nov. 5/4 A number of the London Volunteers have been..returned as non-efficient on account of failure in their musketry practice.
B. n.
A soldier, esp. a volunteer, who has failed to meet a certain standard during training. Opposed to efficient adj. 2. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > inability > [adjective] > unable or incompetent
insufficientc1386
insuffisant1387
unable1395
unsufficient1395
weak1423
uncompetentc1549
short-handed1622
incompetent1641
ineffective1653
nequient1656
inefficient1750
wandought1788
no good1838
non-efficient1863
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adjective] > ineffective
deadc1380
virtuelessa1393
uneffectuous1549
inefficace1570
limping1577
unprevailing1604
inficient1609
weak1609
unofficious1611
penny farthing1615
invalidable1634
invalid1635
unprevalent1640
ineffectible1650
ineffective1651
inefficacious1658
insignificant1661
uneffective1670
popgun1690
foible1715
unefficacious1744
inefficient1750
ineffectual1785
effete1790
foisonlessc1817
puttering1857
non-effective1862
non-efficient1863
shaftless1881
powder puff1911
fouled-up1942
1863 Regulations Volunteer Force 59 Enrolled Members are classed as Efficients or Non-Efficients.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 456/1 Volunteers are..classed as ‘efficients’ and ‘non-efficients’. Efficients must have received certificates from the commanding officer and adjutant, certifying that they have acquired a knowledge of their duties and attended certain drills.
1912 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 18 395 They performed heroic service in our mines and factories, and now are ‘scrapped’ to increase the number of non-efficients at home.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1852