lagoon

Where does the word "lagoon" come from? It comes from Latin lacuna, passing through Italian before entering English (1600s-1700s).

Lagoon’s story begins in Latin: lacuna meant “a pool, gap.” Meaning "a pool" or "gap". By medieval, the word had taken hold in Italian as laguna. Named the shallow body of water separated from the sea, as in Venice. It reached English by 1600s-1700s as lagoon. The Venetian lagoon was the model, from Italian 'laguna'. Today, lagoon means a shallow body of water separated from a larger sea by a sandbar or reef.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient lacuna "a pool, gap", meaning "a pool" or "gap".
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval laguna "a shallow coastal body of water", named the shallow body of water separated from the sea, as in Venice.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s-1700s lagoon "a shallow lake connected to a larger body of water", the Venetian lagoon was the model, from Italian 'laguna'.