Meaning

noun the possibility of future success

noun belief about (or mental picture of) the future

noun someone who is considered for something (for an office or prize or honor etc.)

originFrom Middle English prospecte, from Latin prōspectus (“view, sight, prospect; panorama”), from prōspiciō (“to look forward”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns), from pro (“before, forward”) + speciō, spiciō (“to look, to see”). By surface analysis, pro- + -spect. Doublet of prospectus and prospekt. The verb is from the noun.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0