accidental gap

noun

A potential word, word sense, morpheme, or other form that does not exist in some language despite the fact that it would be permissible by the grammatical rules of that language.

Similar
lexical gap
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Meanings

nounaccidental gap (plural accidental gaps)

plural accidental gaps

  1. human sciencesA potential word, word sense, morpheme, or other form that does not exist in some language despite the fact that it would be permissible by the grammatical rules of that language.

    Synonyms: lexical gap

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA potential word, word sense, morpheme, or other form that does not exist in some language despite the fact that it would be permissible by the grammatical rules of that language.

Similar
lexical gap
Also see
lexical gap

Translations

Polish lakuna
  • lakunapotential word
Cite this entry
APA

accidental gap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidental%20gap

MLA

“accidental gap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidental%20gap. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “accidental gap,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/accidental%20gap.

Source: accidental gap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.