navel

Alternative forms

• navil (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English navel, navele, from Old English nafela, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (compare West Frisian nâle, Dutch navel, German Nabel), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nobʰilos (compare Irish imleac, Latin umbilicus, Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós)), diminutive of *h₃nobʰ- (compare English nave). More at nave.

Pronunciation

• enPR: nā'vəl, IPA^(key): /ˈneɪvəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪvəl
• Homophone: naval

Noun

navel (plural navels)

1. (anatomy) The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
2. The central part or point of anything; the middle.
   • John Milton

     Within the navel of this hideous wood,
     Immured in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells.

   • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas

     We sat alfresco on the edge of a “square,” in reality a pond of cobbly mud with a plinth plonked in its navel […]

3. (historical) An eye on the underside of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.

Anagrams

• Alven, Levan, elvan, levan, venal

Etymology

From Middle Dutch navele, navel, from Old Dutch *navalo, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô.

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

Noun

navel m (plural navels, diminutive naveltje n)

1. navel

Etymology

From Old Norse nafli.

Noun

navel c

1. navel