mislight

mis- +‎ light

mislight (third-person singular simple present mislights, present participle mislighting, simple past and past participle mislighted or mislit)

1. To deceive or lead astray with a false light.
   • 1897, Joseph S. Moorat, A Country Garland of Ten Songs Gathered from the Hesperides of Robert Herrick, page 17:

     No Will-o'-th'-Wisp mislight thee, Nor snake or slow-worm bite thee; But on, on thy way, Not making a stay, Since ghost there is none to affright thee.

   • 1949, Jacob Gould Schurman, James Edwin Creighton, Frank Thilly, The Philosophical Review, page 143:

     Twitches of a smile mislight up her face.

   • 1968, Masterworks of World Drama: Classical Greece, page 216:

     And I hold such in derision; They are spell-bound and mislighted by Reason.

2. To light improperly.
   • 1913, Francisco Laurent Godinez, The Lighting Book, page 84:

     Such glassware , with lights so arranged , usually allows about as much light to pass downward through the glass (transmitted) as is reflected or diffused upwards , and almost invariably interiors mislighted in this way are recognizable by bright spots of light directly above the fixture on the ceiling , with intermediate dark spaces giving a spotty and unattractive effect.

   • 1927, American Photography - Volume 21, page 290:

     If the laboratory makes a mistake and “mislights" a scene, they will stand the loss of making it over.

   • 1983, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Film, page 200:

     In either type of printer, if a single shift is passed over accidentally, the whole of the rest of the reel will be mislighted.

mislight (plural mislights)

1. (film) An error in projection in which the projected image is a combination of two frames.
   • 1953, William H. Offenhauser, 16-mm Sound Motion Pictures, page 403:

     This error is obviated to a large degree when the perforated strip arrangement is used. If a machine is threaded properly and has made one correct print, it is impossible for a mislight to occur if the machine is set properly before the motor switch is snapped on,

   • 1976, SMPTE Journal: Publication of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers:

     Notches weaken the negative, and tabs sometimes come off, causing mislights.

2. An instance when an afterburner does not light the injected fuel properly.
   • 1977, Aviation Week & Space Technology - Volume 106, page 118:

     This improved by 11,000 ft. the repeatable afterburner operation capability, without mislight or stall.

   • 1978, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services, Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1979, page 4081:

     The F-14A fleet aircraft with TF30-P-412A engines were experiencing numerous afterburner mislights on lighting attempts during sustained high "g" load maneuvers.

   • 1983, International Journal of Turbo & Jet-engines - Volume 1, page 236:

     Mislights, blowouts, or stalls should not occur since there is more than enough adequate margin to allow for normal transient operation.