highlight

Etymology

From high + light.

noun

1. (painting, photography) An area or a spot in a drawing, painting, or photograph that is strongly illuminated.
   The image blurred into the highlight, like something familiar seen beneath disturbed though clear water; he looked at the familiar image with a kind of quiet horror and despair, at a face suddenly older in sin than he would ever be, a face more blurred than sweet, at eyes more secret than soft. 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 114
2. (figurative) An especially significant or interesting detail or event or period of time.
   Meeting my future wife was the highlight of my trip to Spain.
   We'll be broadcasting the news highlights every half an hour.
3. (cosmetics) A strand or spot of hair dyed a different color than the rest.

verb

1. (transitive) To make prominent; emphasize.
   The Guardian has spoken to dozens of Europeans who have left, or are planning to leave. Their stories highlight surprising new migration routes – from Lisbon to Luanda, Dublin to Perth, Barcelona to Buenos Aires – as well as more traditional migration patterns. December 21, 2011, Helen Pidd, “Europeans migrate south as continent drifts deeper into crisis”, in the Guardian
2. (transitive) To be a highlight of.
3. (transitive) To mark (important passages of text), e.g. with a fluorescent marker pen or in a wordprocessor, as a means of memory retention or for later reference.
4. (transitive) To dye (part of the hair) a different color than the rest.
5. (transitive, Internet) To seek the attention of (a user) on IRC by mentioning their name in a message, causing that message to appear highlighted on their screen.
   You could have asked: is there a reason this easy patch was not applied, either on IRC or private mail by me. You did write a comment on IRC and I did see it. Problem is that you did not highlight me _and_ you did not wait for an answer. 2006, Frans Pop, “Re: Bug#378404: installation guide: one more additional proposal”, in linux.debian.maint.boot (Usenet)
   You must be somewhere completely different. I’ve looked for several days and don’t see you. But: I’m kind of blind from time to time - please feel free to highlight me ([Sno]) or probably (H. Merijn Brand) Tux or vanHoesel (Theo van Hoesel). 2013, Jens Rehsack, “Re: AnyData open API”, in perl.dbi.dev (Usenet)