lacuna

American  

[luh-kyoo-nuh] / ləˈkyu nə /

noun

PLURAL

lacunae, lacunas

1. a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript, series, or logical argument; hiatus.

2. Anatomy.  one of the numerous minute cavities in the substance of bone, supposed to contain nucleate cells.

3. Botany.  an air space in the cellular tissue of plants.

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lacuna British  

/ ˌlækjʊˈnɒsɪtɪ, ləˈkjuːnə /

noun

1. a gap or space, esp in a book or manuscript

2. biology a cavity or depression, such as any of the spaces in the matrix of bone

3. another name for coffer

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Other Word Forms

• lacunose adjective
• lacunosity noun

Etymology

Origin of lacuna

First recorded in 1655–65; from Latin lacūna “ditch, pit, hole, gap, deficiency,” akin to lacus “basin, tub, vat, lake”; lake ¹. lagoon

Example Sentences

A single palm-size vertebra, its central lacuna heart-shaped, had us wondering about its origin story.

From New York Times

In the field of religious studies, there was a conspicuous lacuna that Dr. Raboteau — and the later scholars he inspired — began to fill.

From Washington Post

Ever since I turned to art professionally, the most shameful lacuna in my American museumgoing career has lied here in the Motor City.

From New York Times

Blakemore’s novel adheres to these events but fills in the lacunae in the documents.

From Los Angeles Times

It doesn’t seriously examine the role of scholarship at the Met, and that is a telling lacuna.

From Washington Post