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Lacuna - 6 dictionary results

la⋅cu⋅na

  [luh-kyoo-nuh]
Use Lacuna in a Sentence
–noun, plural -nae  [-nee] , -nas.
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.
Origin:
1655–65; < L lacūna ditch, pit, hole, gap, deficiency, akin to lacus vat, lake 1 . Cf. lagoon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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la·cu·na   (lə-kyōō'nə)   
n.   pl. la·cu·nae (-nē) or la·cu·nas
  1. An empty space or a missing part; a gap: "self-centered in opinion, with curious lacunae of astounding ignorance" (Frank Norris).
  2. Anatomy A cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone, containing cartilage or bone cells.

[Latin lacūna; see lagoon.]
la·cu'nal adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lacuna

La*cu"na\, n.; pl. L. Lacun[ae]; E. Lacunas. [L., ditch, pit, lake, orig., anything hollow. See Lagoon.]

1. A small opening; a small pit or depression; a small blank space; a gap or vacancy; a hiatus.

2. (Biol.) A small opening; a small depression or cavity; a space, as a vacant space between the cells of plants, or one of the spaces left among the tissues of the lower animals, which serve in place of vessels for the circulation of the body fluids, or the cavity or sac, usually of very small size, in a mucous membrane.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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lacuna 
1663, "blank or missing portion in a manuscript," from L. lacuna "hole, pit," dim. of lacus "pond, lake" (see lake (1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: la·cu·na
Pronunciation: l&-'k(y)ü-n&
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural la·cu·nae /-'kyü-(")nE, -'kü-"nI/
: a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure: as a : one of the follicles in the mucous membrane of theurethra b : one of the minute cavities in bone or cartilage occupied by the osteocytes —la·cu·nar /-'k(y)ü-n&r/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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lacuna la·cu·na (lə-ky&oomacr;'nə)
n. pl. la·cu·nas or la·cu·nae (-nē)

  1. An anatomical cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone.
  2. An empty space or a missing part; a gap; a defect.
  3. An abnormal space between the strata or between the cellular elements of the epidermis.
  4. See corneal space.
la·cu'nal adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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