Lacuna - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

la·cu·na

Audio Help [luh-kyoo-nuh] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -nae

Audio Help [-nee] Pronunciation Key, -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, lake¹. Cf. lagoon

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Lacuna

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

la·cu·na Audio Help (lə-kyōō'nə) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. la·cu·nae (-nē) or la·cu·nas

An empty space or a missing part; a gap: "self-centered in opinion, with curious lacunae of astounding ignorance" (Frank Norris).
Anatomy A cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone, containing cartilage or bone cells.

[Latin lacūna; see lagoon.]

la·cu'nal adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lacuna

1663, "blank or missing portion in a manuscript," from L. lacuna "hole, pit," dim. of lacus "pond, lake" (see lake (1)).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

lacuna
noun
1.	a blank gap or missing part
2.	an ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome [syn: coffer]

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lacuna la·cu·na (lə-ky&oomacr;'nə)
n. pl. la·cu·nas or la·cu·nae (-nē)

An anatomical cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone.
An empty space or a missing part; a gap; a defect.
An abnormal space between the strata or between the cellular elements of the epidermis.
See corneal space.

la·cu'nal adj.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

lacuna

lacuna: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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