I know there’s no such word as candidity, but I like the sound of it. A listener asked about the word candor. It now means openness, frankness, and outspokenness. Originally (14th c.), it meant brilliant Whiteness. That’s no surprise, since it came from a Latin word that meant whiteness. It then (17th c.) expanded into innocence, integrity, and purity of character.
Other words share the same Latin root. One of them is candid. It, too, started out meaning whiteness, then morphed into innocent and pure, then into free from malice, then into open and straightforward. In photographic terms, it came to mean an informal or unposed photo.
The word candidate also stemmed from the Latin word for whiteness. This is because Romans running for office wore white togas. If their campaign caught on fire, it was positively candescent.
Word Parts Dictionary, Nook edition
Word Parts Dictionary, Kindle edition
Words to the Wise, Kindle Edition
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