# Why is it called the 'limelight'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492 "2008-07-14T20:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/1 "2008-07-14T20:40:51Z")
Reading a book about Degas it was talking about he was showing how the ‘limelight’ affected the scene. Now it was refering to some images of dancers being lighted by footlights, which come from the floor. But… Did early theatrical lighting have a green cast to it? Is that why it’s called the limelight? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/2 "2008-07-14T20:43:23Z")
[Limelight](http://ask.yahoo.com/20030613.html). ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/3 "2008-07-14T20:43:59Z")
Limelight is white light – intense/bright – made by heating a piece of lime in burning oxygen and hydrogen. The process to create a bright light was developed by Thomas Drummond (sp?) in the early 19th century. It was used in 19th century theatre to illuminate the stage. So…it was once a bright light, thanks to a lime…and used in theatre. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/4 "2008-07-14T20:44:25Z")
[Limelight](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limelight) - the light was produced by aiming an intense flame at a chunk of [calcium oxide](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxide) (“lime”). _shakes his fist_ One of these days! I’ll beat you all to it! ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/5 "2008-07-14T20:52:19Z")
There are other websites where one can search for information? Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/6 "2008-07-14T22:45:01Z")
If you need the Cecil answer, he did answer it in the past. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/7 "2008-07-14T22:48:42Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] If you need the Cecil answer, he did answer it in the past. [/QUOTE] I thought so, too, but a search turns up nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/8 "2008-07-14T23:24:50Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I thought so, too, but a search turns up nothing. [/QUOTE] I gave up on search a few months ago. I mentioned it, hoping somebody that has the patience would do it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/9 "2008-07-14T23:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] I gave up on search a few months ago. I mentioned it, hoping somebody that has the patience would do it. [/QUOTE] Oh, the column archive search is an entirely different beast than the board search. I’m not even sure they’re on the same server; in any case, they’re entirely separate from one another. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/10 "2008-07-15T03:46:57Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] So…it was once a bright light, thanks to a lime…and used in theatre. [/QUOTE] Umm… it’s not lime, the citrus fruit, but lime, the chemical compound calcium oxide. Or was that a whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-the-limelight/456492/11 "2008-07-15T13:49:50Z")
I had idly wondered why both calcium oxide and the green fruit (and birdlime\*, for that matter) shared a name, but never enough to look it up. The answer, of course, is that the words are unrelated. The calcium compound and sticky bird stuff comes from Latin _limus_ meaning “slime”, whereas the fruit comes from Arabic _limah_ meaning, well, lime. \*For a long time I thought “birdlime” was a euphemism for bird droppings. I still sometimes hear it used to mean that.