From Latin 'candor' (whiteness, brilliance), from 'candere' (to shine) — honesty imagined as luminous clarity.
The quality of being open, honest, and straightforward in speech.
From Latin 'candor' (whiteness, radiance, brilliance, purity, moral integrity), from 'candēre' (to shine, to be glowing white, to be incandescent), from PIE *kand- (to shine, to glow, to be luminously white). The connection between whiteness and honesty is fundamental to the Latin semantic field: what shines is visible, exposed, unconcealed. 'Candidate' comes from the same root via 'candidatus' (clothed in white) — Roman candidates
'Candle,' 'candidate,' and 'incandescent' share the same root.