The word Lacuna seems to be new to several people, so here are the OED online definitions:
1. In a manuscript, an inscription, the text of an author: A hiatus, blank, missing portion. Also transf.
1663 SIR R. MORAY in Lauderd. Papers (Camden) I. 181 You do well to leave no Lacunas in your letters. 1694 GIBSON in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 228 The lacuna of his behaviour in Holland, Dr. Gregory perhaps may be able to make up. 1851 D. WILSON Preh. Ann. IV. v. (1863) II. 326 The context which fills up the numerous lacunae of the time-worn inscription. 1875 MAINE Hist. Inst. ix. 256 The description given..is followed by a lacuna in the manuscript. 1892 ZANGWILL Bow Myst. 147 There were various lacunæ and hypotheses in the case for the defence.
2. Chiefly in physical science: A gap, an empty space, spot, or cavity. a. gen.
1872 PROCTOR Ess. Astron. xxiv. 303 The gaps and lacunae are left relatively clear of lucid stars. 1879 RUTLEY Study Rocks x. 107 Fluid lacunae..are of frequent occurrence in nepheline. 1880 Sat. Rev. 15 May 637 The curious lacuna in the field of vision, known as the blind spot.
b. Anat. ‘A mucous follicle; also, a space in the connective tissue giving origin to a lymphatic’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1888).
1706 PHILLIPS (ed. Kersey), Lacunæ are certain small Pores or Passages in the Neck of the Womb. 1722 QUINCY Lex. Physico-Med. (ed. 2) 175 Between this Muscle [Sphincter] and the inner membrane of the Vagina, there are several little Glands, whose excretory Ducts are called Lacunæ. 1874 VAN BUREN Dis. Genit. Org. 77 Inflammation seals the orifice of the follicle and the lacuna is converted into a cyst containing pus.
c. Anat. One of the small cavities in the bone substance which contain the bone corpuscles or osteoblasts (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1888).
1845 TODD & BOWMAN Phys. Anat. I. 109 They [pores] soon arrange themselves in sets, each of which..discharges itself into a small cavity or lacuna. 1859 [see LACUNAL a.]. 1867 J. HOGG Microsc. I. ii. 57 The observation of..the Haversian canals and the lacunæ of bones.
d. Zool. 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.
1867 J. HOGG Microsc. II. iii. 566 Minute capillary ramifications [in flukes] terminating in small oval shaped sacs or lacunæ.
e. Bot. An air-space in the cellular tissue of plants, an air-cell. Also, a small pit or depression on the upper surface of the thallus of lichens.
1836 LOUDON Encycl. Plants 948 [Lichens] Lacunæ are small hollows or pits on the upper surface of the frond. 1856 in HENSLOW Dict. Bot. Terms. 1874 COOKE Fungi 41 In Tuburcinia, the minute cells are compacted into a hollow sphere, having lacunæ communicating with the interior.
Access the OED from home with your library membership number http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/lclogin
Slight amendment to that post - to access OED online from home you need to enter your library membership number preceded by the letters ORKN e.g. ORKN888555
ReplyDeletethankyou (stewart?), i think that i now know just a bit more about lacuna than i needed...; but i could add some absolutely fascinating geological info on the formation of this particular physical metaphor if anybody wished to be well and truly info-overloaded?
ReplyDeleteFascinating geological info is always welcome, go for it...
ReplyDeleteI was aware of the general meaning of 'lacuna', but it's great to see examples of the word used in its various contexts. Thanks for looking them out for us, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteJust forty pages to read, and I have enjoyed every bit of it. Confess I skipped to the last part, which showed me how beautifully constructed this story is, and how relevant the first part. Not surprised tos ee that she has written poetry too.
ReplyDeleteafter being taken for several rides by my mac safari bookmarker i've at last got to both past and current posts re lacuna, and incidentally also drifted into v useful indy books on twitter and hence to a radio interview with kingsolver ( thankyou whoever it was whose postings lured me along that path- i think that carola huttman popped up somewhere along the way?);anyway its got me going again, following the bait of insights into 1950's macarthy usa ( i was one of many uk new graduates who decided to beat a path to the states then - some of whom actually came unstuck wrt mcarthy because they had been members of a student labourite socialist club!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found the interview with Barbara Kingsolver inspiration enough to carry on reading, al. Wasn't it great hearing the author herself speaking about her book?
ReplyDeleteFor anyone else interested, you can catch the interview on the BBC iPlayer for another 6 days (until Wed.21/7). Just copy 'n' paste the address into your brower window if the link doesn't work. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00swrj1
after that success here's my mini-geological offering, then i'll pipe down and get on with the book:
ReplyDeletethe (assumed) fictional island is offshore by ferry from veracruz on east coast mexico, so it lies west of the yucatan peninsula which is, with florida and bahamas, part of the huge 750 mile long arc of the marine limestone grand bahama bank built up over the last 130 million yrs; sea levels fell and rose with comings and goings of ice ages, eroding caverns which form today's extensive complexes of flooded xenotes/cenotes/blue holes/sink holes and tunnels; the region was livened up c 65 million years ago by the impact of the giant meteorite which left a huge 100 mile wide crater in the mexican gulf and caused one of the greatest mass extinctions of all time; all this is of course only yesterday on the geological scale of things
i assume that the metaphorical lacuna is the isolated inland pond where our young hero surfaced after an epic struggle through some of these xenotes and tunnels?
from alison (google insists upon calling me al)
I took the book on holiday with me and loved it all the way through (the book I mean - well the holiday too). It maybe helped having been to Frido Kahlo's and Diego's houses and seen the mural.... A minor point but I was fascinated by Leandro's information about how to tell if a moon is waxing or waning - is it true??? summary verdict: what a great book!
ReplyDeletefrom Mim
ps I've picked anon as I don't have a URL - do I?
Mim, if you choose Name/URL you can enter your name and leave the URL box blank. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteWell I have finally finished reading 'The Lacuna'. I did find it a bit of a challenge, especially at the beginning, struggling to see where the story was leading. I did enjoy the use of various cultural expressions and names, although spent too long wondering about pronunciation! For me the story began to take on more life when HS was no longer living with his mother (a character who annoyed me, yet I see her importance in showing us HS's developing character!), during his time working with 'Lev' in Mexico and then his move to America. I also enjoyed the interaction between Frida and HS, and VB and HS, bringing HS much more to life.
ReplyDeleteOverall I'd say this book seems a bit dis-jointed at times, but after now reading the ending and considering the use of the word 'lacuna' (and it's different meanings) I am glad I stuck it out to the end!
Barbara Kingsolver's characters are, for me, always so convincing that I hate leaving them at the end of a book. I love the way that HS is such a 3D character at the same time as the manuscript (of his life) is seemingly incomplete, and I am fascinated by the ideas in this book about writing itself. I would agree with the above reader, that the interaction between the characters is fantastic - the characters are all so distinctive Barbara Kingsolver must be doing some amazing juggling act to keep them all alive in her head and spin from one to the other whilst she is writing.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to have finished this book. Found it tedious in the extreme after the first couple of hundred pages. Strange considering many thought the first bit the worst. I did enjoy the use of Lacuna in its different contexts, but that is about all. Disappointing for me but I am no fan of this author.
ReplyDeleteWas really looking forward to this book but found it a real chore after the first few chapters. I gave it a good shot as I have plenty of time on my hands at the moment, have passed it on to another keen reader to sample, hopefully she will enjoy it more.
ReplyDeleteIt would be very boring if we all liked the same books, or even the same things about different books, but I have to say that I loved this book from start to finish. Even at the beginning, when you don't know where it is going, it is just so well written that I sat back and enjoyed the ride. And the way that the noose was tightened bit by bit around Harrison's neck in the McCarthy era was genuinely exciting, even though inevitable given what we know today. I also found echoes of Americans' fear of the word 'communism' in the 1950s to the present day, when most of the criticisms of President Obama's proposed healthcare reforms were based on the fact that they were 'socialist', (and therefore the work of the devil?). The word may have changed, but the fear remains the same for many, even though it is difficult to see what they are actually afraid of. I thought I might be able to criticise the end of the book as being a bit predictable, because as we started to run out of pages I could only see the book ending one way, but even then there was a twist so I didn't even have that satisfaction!
ReplyDeleteI found the book very slow-going and at times have even preferred doing the ironing instead of picking it up- I know not very good. I have only managed to page 168 and put it down to read Larrson's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (excellent), after reading the comments here I will try to read more as it seems to get better after the first 200 pages. I do think it is beautifully wrote but sorry a bit boring :-).
ReplyDeleteAt last, I've finished the Lacuna. I liked it. It's a period of history I know nothing about and found the whole paranoia about Communism in the USA both interesting and frightening. I liked the mix of first person narrative, diary entries and newspaper articles. I though it enabled the viewer to see the story from different viewpoints.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was surprising. I won't give it away in case, like me, you are a late finisher, but persevere - it's worth it!