noun
limelight
LIME-lite/ˈlaɪmlaɪt/
Intense stage illumination produced by heated lime.
The heated lime cylinder provides limelight for the performer.
Etymology
Lime produced an intense light used to illuminate principal actors on stage. Being “in the limelight” therefore came to mean occupying the center of public attention.
In context
he's not in the limelight. He hasn't written books. He hasn't interviewed with tons of media outlets and he hasn't done any documentaries.
More examples
- Early theaters used limelight to illuminate performers.
- The operator adjusts the flame to keep the limelight steady.
- Electric lighting eventually replaced limelight in theaters.
Forms
limelight
Similar words
- incandescence
- Light produced by heat, not specifically by heated lime.
- spotlight
- A focused beam that need not come from heated lime.