lack (n.)

约于1300年，意为“缺乏，不足”，在古英语中未出现，起源不明。可能来自未记录的古英语 *lac，或者借自中古荷兰语 lak “缺乏，过错”； 在任一情况下，可能来自原始日耳曼语 *lek-（源头还包括古弗里西亚语 lek “劣势，损害”，古诺尔斯语 lakr “缺乏”（在质量上），“不足”（在重量上）），源自 PIE *leg-（2）“滴下，流淌”（见 leak（v.））。中古英语还有 lackless “没有责备或过错”。

"be wanting or deficient" (intransitive), late 12c., perhaps from Middle Dutch laken "to be wanting," from lak (n.) "deficiency, fault," or an unrecorded native cognate word (see lack (n.)). Transitive sense "be in want of" is from early 13c. Related: Lacked; lacking.

To lack is primarily and generally to be without, that which is lacked being generally some one thing, and a thing which is desirable, although generally not necessary or very important. [Century Dictionary]

lack 主要且普遍指的是没有，那个被 lacked 的通常是某一件事物，而这件事物是令人向往的，尽管通常不是必需的或非常重要。【世纪词典】