Do you speak a little Latin when you say 'lacuna'?

'Lacuna' is a word borrowed from Latin 'lacuna.'. The word entered the English language some time around 1652.

lacuna [noun] [1652]

• a blank space or a missing part
• gap
• deficiency
• a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure

Meaning: a blank space or a missing part : gap the evident lacunae in his story Shirley Hazzard; deficiency 1 despite all these lacunae; those reforms were a vast improvement New Republic; a small cavity; pit; or discontinuity in an anatomical structure.

Etymology: Latin; pool; pit; gap lagoon.

Topics: Geography:Hydrology.

Origin: From Latin to English.

note: This Latin term is a diminutive of lacus also meaning lake or pool.

See 'lacuna' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Latin.

See more loan words from 1600s.