Etymologically
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lacuna

Etymology and origin of the Latin word lacuna

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɫaˈkuː.na][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [laˈkuː.na][1]

Forms

lacūna f (genitive lacūnae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is derived from lacus “lake, pond; basin”, as Varro and Festus already noted.[2][3][1] Wiktionary explains it as the feminine of an adjective *lacūnus “of lakes”, formed like opportūnus from portus, and used as a noun, perhaps from lacūna aqua (“cistern water”), while Etymonline calls it a diminutive.[1][4] A by-form lucūna is recorded.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Cato onwards, who tells how to make a large hollow inside a lime kiln,[2] although Köbler dates it from Varro.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a depression, hollow or pit, as of uneven ground that collects water, a furrow, or the hollows above a horse's eyes, and Ovid uses it of dimples.[2][5] It meant a pool or pond, and the poets called the sea salsae lacunae “salt pools”.[2][5] Figuratively it meant a gap or deficiency, as in Cicero's “to fill up the gap in his fortune”.[2][3]

In medieval Latin it meant a lake,[7] and in Neo-Latin the lagoons of Venice.[8] It gave Italian and Spanish laguna, the source of English lagoon, and English borrowed lacuna itself in the 1660s for a gap in a manuscript.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for a hollow in a kiln.[2][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it for hollows that collect water.[2][6]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius calls the sea salsae lacunae.[5][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for a gap in someone's means.[2][6]
  • Renaissance – Neo-Latin writers use it for the lagoons of Venice.[8]
  • 1660s – English borrows it as English lacuna.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A hollow, pit, cavity; a dimple.[2][5]
  2. A pool, pond, (poetic) the sea.[2][5]
  3. (figurative) A gap, deficiency.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A lake, (New Latin) a lagoon.[7][8]

Word family

  • lacūnar
  • lacūnāria
  • lacūnārius
  • lacūnō
  • lacūnōsus
  • lacūnarium
  • lacūnātūra
  • lacus
  • English lacuna
  • English lagoon

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
Cite this entry

“Lacuna.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/lacuna. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .