Donald Trump has been described with many words, some of which we can't reproduce here. But just about everyone agrees that he's "candid," "blunt," "frank" and, on a good day, even "sincere."

When you call Trump "candid," picture him wearing a flowing white robe like Moses. Now stop laughing.

"Candid" derives from the Latin "candidus," meaning "bright, white." Romans running for political office often wore white togas, so they were called "candidi," the root of our word "candidate."

Because white is the absence of color or tint, "candid" in English first meant "unbiased, fair." That's the meaning Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he wrote in The Declaration of Independence, "Let facts be submitted to a candid world." Eventually, "candid" was extended to mean "honest, forthright."

Can you believe I worked Donald Trump and Thomas Jefferson into the same column?

Trump is also "blunt," a word that first appeared in English to describe tools or weapons that were dull or worn. Because a blunt instrument performs its tasks in a straightforward, unsubtle way, as opposed to a sharp scalpel or rapier, people started describing remarks that were direct as "blunt."

To find the origin of "frank" as a synonym for "candid," we journey back in time to the middle of the first millennium when a Germanic tribe, the Franks, were gobbling up pieces of Europe like sliced pizza. This included northern Gaul, the region that still bears their name ("France").

After the Franks' conquest and subjugation of Gaul, the only free people left there were the Franks themselves. So the word "frank" came to mean "free."

That's the meaning "frank" had when it entered English in the 1500s, and soon this meaning was extended to "unrestrained, free in expressing oneself."

As for "sincere," forget this fetching but fallacious story of its origin: In ancient Rome, unscrupulous masons pasted a thick coat of wax on marble to make it look carefully polished, so honest stoneworkers advertised their polished marble as being "sin cere" (without wax).

Here's the story without wax: "Sincere" derives from the Latin "sincerus, meaning "whole, pure." "Sincerus," a combination of "sin" (one) and "crescere" (to grow), originally denoted a plant of pure genealogy (not a hybrid) and later came to mean anything genuine.

Donald Trump may be sincere, but it's hard to believe that his formidable forelock is without wax.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.

Photo credit: Marc Nozell