limelight (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict[limelight 词源字典]
1826, popular name for Drummond light, a brilliant light created by the incandescence of lime (n.1); adopted for lighthouses and later for the Victorian stage, where it illuminated the principal actors, hence the figurative sense of "on stage, at the center of attention" (1877).[limelight etymology, limelight origin, 英语词源]