lacuna
- A gap, missing portion, or blank space, especially in a manuscript, argument, or body of knowledge.
- In anatomy and biology, a small cavity, pit, or depression in bone or tissue.
In a sentence
- The historian acknowledged a significant lacuna in the archival record for the decade following the war.
- Critics noted that the theory, while elegant, contained a glaring lacuna where the evidence for the third premise should have been.
Usage note. The standard English plural is either 'lacunae' (following Latin) or 'lacunas'; both are acceptable, but 'lacunae' is preferred in academic and scholarly writing.
Where it comes from
English lacuna · entered English 17th c.
From Latin 'lacuna' meaning a pit, hole, pool, or gap, derived from 'lacus' (lake, hollow). It entered English in the 17th century, first used in scholarly contexts to describe missing sections in ancient manuscripts, and later extended to figurative uses meaning any void or deficiency.