Sense file
How the sense moved
The archive follows the dated record first, then reads the social or rhetorical pressure that hardened, softened, narrowed, or reversed the word.
Older meaning
A person dressed in white, especially for public office.
Modern meaning
A person seeking office, membership, or a position.
Research lens
The archive uses this entry as a compact map, not a complete monograph.
Meaning trail
Root
dressed in white
Ritual dress helped signal public aspiration.
Older sense
office seeker
The ceremony and the role were linked.
Now
any applicant
Institutional spread widened the field.