highlight English · revision 6758

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1650s}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhaɪlaɪt/ ''(UK)''; /ˈhaɪˌlaɪt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[high]] and [[light]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The brightest part of a painting: the 1650s in Etymonline, the mid-17th century in SOED.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''High lights'' also came to mean the lighter colours used in painting, and the term passed into photography and engraving.^(Etymonline) The figurative sense, an outstanding feature, is by 1855, as highlights give effect to a picture, but it was not common before about 1920.^(Etymonline) The verb, to give highlights to a painting, is from 1861; to bring into prominence is from 1934 in the OED (by 1944 in Etymonline).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Bleached streaks in the hair are from 1941–42,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and marking text with a fluorescent pen, a ''highlighter'', from 1968.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1650s – the brightest part of a painting.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – an outstanding feature.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1861 – the verb, in painting.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1934 – to bring into prominence.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – hairdressing.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – to mark text with a highlighter.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The most interesting or memorable part of an event or period.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A brightly lit area in a painting, drawing or photograph.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(often plural)'' A bleached or lightened streak in the hair.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To draw attention to; to [[emphasize]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To mark text with a [[highlighter]] or, on a computer screen, to select it.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make streaks of lighter colour in hair.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[highlighter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[high]]

+ * [[light]]

+ * [[limelight]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}