From the word’s history
From Middle French competer, from Latin competō, from com- 'with' + petō 'to seek, strive for'.
源自拉丁文 competō，由 com-「一起」加 petō「追求」組成。
One way to hold this word: two hands reaching for the same single thing at the same time. What they reach for changes. Two shops reach for the same customers. Two stories reach for the same place — the place marked 'what really happened' — and only one thing can sit there.
這個字的畫面可以想成：兩隻手同時伸向同一個東西。伸手搶的目標會變。兩家店搶的是同一批客人；兩種說法搶的則是「事實」那個位子，而那個位子只有一個，所以不可能兩邊都坐得下。