lacuna

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2008 is: lacuna • \luh-KOO-nuh\  • noun 1 : a blank space or a missing part : gap 2 : a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure Examples: The newly discovered Civil War documents filled many lacunae in the museum's archives. Did you know? Exploring the etymology of "lacuna" involves taking a plunge into the pit -- or maybe a leap into the “lacus” (that's the Latin word for "lake"). Latin speakers modified “lacus” into “lacuna,” and used it to mean "pit," "cleft," or "pool." English speakers borrowed the term in the 17th century. Another English word that traces its origin to "lacuna" is "lagoon," which came to us by way of Italian and French. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.