Where does “limelight” come from?
limelight (English) comes from English lime, from French lime, from Latin lima, from Spanish lima, from Spanish Limón, from Arabic لَيْمُون, from Persian لیمو, from Sanskrit निम्बू.
limelight (English): A type of stage lighting once used in theatres...
Definitions
- A type of stage lighting once used in theatres...
Ancestry of “limelight”, step by step
limelight traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English lime
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | lime | Any inorganic material containing calcium,... |
| 2 | French | lime | file; lime |
| 3 | Latin | lima | file |
| 4 | Spanish | lima | lime; lemon; file |
| 5 | Spanish | Limón | lemon |
| 6 | Arabic | لَيْمُون | lemon, lime |
| 7 | Persian | لیمو | lemon; lime |
| 8 | Sanskrit | निम्बू | common lime or lemon |
| 9 | Mundari | lembu | — |
via English Light
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Light | A place name |
| 2 | Middle English | light | The radiation which allows for vision by... |
| 3 | Old English | lēoht | luminous, bright, light, clear, resplendent,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | leuht | light, bright; light |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | leuhtą | light |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | lewktom | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | lewk- | bright; to shine; to see |