can·di·date 
(kăndĭ-dāt′, -dĭt)
(kăndĭ-dāt′, -dĭt)n.
1. A person who seeks or is nominated for an office, prize, or honor.
2. A student who has nearly completed the requirements for a degree.
3. One that seems likely to gain a certain position or come to a certain fate: young actors who are candidates for stardom; a memorandum that is a good candidate for the trash can.
[Latin candidātus, clothed in white (from the white togas worn by Romans seeking office), candidate, from candidus, white; see CANDID.]
candi·da·cy (-də-sē), candi·da·ture′ (-də-chr′, -chər) n.