Crosslight
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Light that comes from the side, causing shadows that can obscure objects of view or create strong contrasts. uncountable, usually
"Each great party has felt itself in honor bound to justify its men and measures by elaborate argument, and so it has resulted that the light of science has been too often a crosslight, obscuring what it sought to illumine."
- 2 A traffic light intended principally to allow pedestrian or other traffic from a lesser roadway to cross a busier roadway. countable, usually
"When the crosslight turned green, silence was much less perilous."
- 3 Illumination directed at the performers or subject matter from opposite sides of the set. uncountable, usually
"Again, the crosslight is best designed to angle slightly upstage taking care not to produce shadows on backings."
- 4 Light that results from multiple sources and different directions. uncountable, usually
"In building a stable for horses only, where you can have light as you wish, I would say always have crosslight, so that the rays will cross as near where the horse stands as possible."
- 5 Multiple perspectives or points of view. figuratively, uncountable, usually
"There is sometimes an advantage, however, in getting a double light, or a crosslight, on a subject; or, in other words, in letting two men explain the same point."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 One of a number of differing points of view. countable, figuratively, usually
"The incident of the palm was interesting in throwing an illuminative crosslight on the gentler human side of a man who had generally been rated as without either gentleness or humanity."
- 1 To illuminate from the side. transitive
Example
More examples"Each great party has felt itself in honor bound to justify its men and measures by elaborate argument, and so it has resulted that the light of science has been too often a crosslight, obscuring what it sought to illumine."
Etymology
From cross + light.
Related phrases
More for "crosslight"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.