sidelight

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small light fitted at the side of a vehicle or the red or green navigation light on a vessel

   The carriage's sidelights appeared around the bend before the horses came into view.

2. 2
   noun

   a window, lens, or shield fitted at the side of something, historically including a sidepiece on spectacles

   The antique blue spectacles had dark sidelights that concealed the wearer's face from the side.

3. 3
   noun

   an incidental fact that helps illuminate a subject from a different angle

   The diary offers an intriguing sidelight on daily life during the expedition.

A compound of side + light, recorded from the early seventeenth century. Concrete uses refer to light, a lamp, or an opening at the side; the figurative sense treats an incidental fact as light cast on a subject from another direction.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images