lacuna

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 18, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>lacuna</strong> &#149; \luh-KOO-nuh\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Lacuna</em> is a formal word that refers to a gap or blank space in something—in other words, a missing part. When used with respect to biology, <em>lacuna</em> also refers to a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure.</p> <p>// The absence of hemlock pollen from one stretch of the fossil record is a notable <em>lacuna</em> that suggests the tree may have once suffered from some type of blight that nearly wiped out the species. </p> <p>// An <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/osteocyte">osteocyte</a> is a cell that is isolated in a <em>lacuna</em> of bone.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lacuna">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“When civil war broke out in 1642, the ensuing chaos was disastrous. ... In her new novel, ‘The Manningtree Witches,’ A.K. Blakemore explores the consequences of that chaos for a group of village women through the viewpoint of a narrator named Rebecca West. West, a true historical figure, was among those prosecuted in Essex. Blakemore’s novel adheres to these events but fills in the <em>lacunae</em> in the documents.” — Lorraine Berry, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 23 Aug. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>If you find yourself drawing a blank when it comes to the definition of <em>lacuna</em>, it might help to imagine drawing water instead, ideally from a lake or lagoon. <em>Lacuna</em>, <em>lake</em> and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lagoon"><em>lagoon</em></a> all come ultimately from <em>lacus</em>, the Latin word for “lake.” Latin speakers modified <em>lacus</em> into <em>lacuna</em> to form a word meaning “pit,” “gap,” or “pool.” When