laguna

lagoon

noun lah-GOO-nah Rare

Origin: From Latin lacuna (pool, gap), source also of English 'lacuna' and 'lagoon'

Usage Note

Laguna is famously associated with Venice, whose lagoon (la laguna di Venezia) is one of the world's most iconic. The word refers to a shallow body of salt or brackish water separated from the sea by a sandbar or reef. Do not confuse it with lacuna (a gap or missing part), which shares a Latin root but has diverged in meaning.

Examples

"Venezia sorge su un'isola nella laguna."

Natural Translation

Venice rises on an island in the lagoon.

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