Candidacy

How to spell candidacy

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce candidacy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does candidacy mean?

1. nounThe state of being a candidate for an office, position, or award.

Candidacy in a sentence

• She announced her candidacy for the city council in early spring.

• The committee questioned his candidacy after the funding details emerged.

Where does candidacy come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin candidus, meaning 'white' or 'shining', which gave rise to candidatus, literally 'one who is clothed in white'. In ancient Rome, a person seeking public office would wear a bright white toga as a public sign of honesty and clean intentions while canvassing for votes, so candidatus came to mean a person standing for election. English took 'candidate' from this Latin source in the early 1600s, and 'candidacy' was later formed by attaching the noun suffix -acy, which marks a state, rank, or office. The same candidus root also lies behind the word 'candid', meaning frank or open, because whiteness suggested purity and plain honesty. Remembering the single d in the middle and the -acy ending (not -asy) is the main spelling trap, and it helps to recall that the word is built straight onto 'candid'.

How the word is built

• candid- (from Latin candidus: white, shining)
• -acy (noun suffix of state or office)