Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
sidelight [sahyd-lahyt] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- an item of incidental information.
- either of two lights carried by a vessel under way at night, a red one on the port side and a green on the starboard.
- light coming from the side.
- a window or other aperture for light in the side of a building, ship, etc.
- a window at the side of a door or another window.
Origin of sidelight First recorded in 1600–10; side1 + light1 Examples from the Web for side-light Historical Examples of side-light
Isabel went into the dark entry, and pressed her face against the side-light.
Alice Brown
Perhaps the reader may be interested in a side-light on this subject.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4
Plotinos (Plotinus)
It is only by a side-light that any connection between the saint and the custom can be traced.
James Wilson Hyde
Emerson has treated this matter partially and from a sort of side-light.
Sidney Lanier
He is one of the characters that throw a side-light on our lives.
Opie Read
British Dictionary definitions for side-light sidelight noun
- light coming from the side
- a side window
- either of the two navigational running lights used by vessels at night, a red light on the port and a green on the starboard
- British either of two small lights on the front of a motor vehicle, used to indicate the presence of the vehicle at night rather than to assist the driver
- additional or incidental information
Word Origin and History for side-light sidelight n.
also side-light, c.1600, “light coming from the side,” from side (adj.) + light (n.). Figurative meaning “incidental information on a subject” is attested from 1862.