Lightboxes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Illuminated cabinets or panels with a backlit face used to display signs, advertisements or images ; translucent light-filled frames used for viewing transparencies and slides
2. Glowing display boxes with a lit front that show posters, notices or pictures clearly ; backlit viewing units that let people examine film negatives and slides
3. Back-illuminated display units that present advertising or artwork to passersby ; light tables or viewers that show photographic transparencies against a bright surface

Etymology: "Lightboxes" is the plural of "lightbox," a compound formed from "light" and "box." The first part is the ordinary English word for illumination, and the second is the familiar container, so the term describes exactly what it sounds like: a box with a light inside, used to show something from behind. The noun's oldest sense is the physical object, a glowing case that displays printed images, signs, or transparencies. The term later took on a more specific meaning in the internet era. Originally it named one particular technique, a web display method in which an image opens over a dimmed page, so the picture appears to glow above the content. Over time the name spread to the wider idea of any overlay that presents content this way, which is why the plural now appears in web design discussions as readily as in talk about physical signage.