lacunar

plural lacunars · plural lacunaria

1. architectureA sunken panel or coffer in a ceiling or a soffit; a ceiling containing panels of this kind.

   On the grounds of the coffers forming the lacunaria of the ceilings.

   1845, Athenæum, quoted in OED

   2 more examples

   Lacunar, (in Architect.) the flooring or Planking above the Porticoes; a cieled Roof arched or fretted.

   [1658, Edward Phillips, The New World of English Words, 5th edition, quoted in OED, published 1696

   Lacunariæ, or Lacunars, panels or coffers formed on the ceilings of apartments, and sometimes on the soffits of coronae in the Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite orders.

   [1823, Peter Nicholson, The New Practical Builder, and Workman's Companion, quoted in OED

1. not comparablerelationalarchitectureOf or pertaining to a lacuna.

   The circulation is always more or less extensively lacunar; even arteries may be wanting.

   1870, George Rolleston, Forms of Animal Life. […], quoted in OED, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page cv

   2 more examples

   "Charlie didn't seem that sad, either," Sticky reflected. "He got upset, but he wasn't really sad. It must be different with lacunar amnesia. Maybe —" "Wait a minute," Constance demanded. "Back up and say that again in human words." "Lacunar amnesia? It means you can't remember a specific event."

   2007, Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society, page 251

   Once stroke was classified by a risk factor-free method, the stronger relationship between hypertension and lacunar versus nonlacunar infarction patients disappeared.

   2016 March 3, “Comparison of Risk Factor between Lacunar Stroke and Large Artery Atherosclerosis Stroke: A Cross-Sectional Study in China”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI

   Synonyms: lacunal