See also: ομφαλός

Ancient Greek edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Indo-European *h₃m̥bʰ-l̥-, from *h₃nebʰ- (navel, center). Cognates include Sanskrit नभ्य (nabhya), Latin umbilīcus, and Old English nafola (English navel).

Pronunciation edit

 

Noun edit

ὀμφᾰλός (omphalósm (genitive ὀμφᾰλοῦ); second declension

  1. (anatomy) navel
  2. umbilical cord
  3. anything shaped like a navel, hence:
    1. knob or boss in the middle of the shield
    2. button or knob on the horse's yoke to fasten the reins to
    3. plug or valve closing the outlet of bath
    4. (in the plural) knobs at each end of the stick round which books were rolled
  4. centre or middle point
  5. (botany) centre of a plant, containing the seed vessel
  6. centre of an army, properly the point at which an army is divided into two wings
  7. (architecture) keystone of an arched vault
  8. (at Corycus) vault, tomb

Inflection edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • Greek: αφαλός m (afalós), ομφαλός m (omfalós, navel)

Further reading edit