Word of the Day

: June 28, 2007

candidate

noun KAN-duh-dayt

What It Means

1 : one that aspires to or is nominated or qualified for an office, membership, or award

2 : one likely or suited to undergo or be chosen for something specified

3 : a student in the process of meeting final requirements for a degree

candidate in Context

Voters will have several appealing candidates to choose from in this election.

Did You Know?

When a person running for public office in ancient Rome greeted voters in the Forum, the center of judicial and public business, he wore a toga that had been whitened with chalk. As a result, the Latin word for someone seeking office came to be "candidatus," meaning literally "clothed in white." "Candidatus," in turn, comes from the adjective "candidus," meaning "white." "Candidatus" was adopted into English as "candidate" at the beginning of the 17th century.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.