navel
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- navil (obsolete)
EtymologyEdit
From Middle English navel, navele, from Old English nafola, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (compare West Frisian nâle, Dutch navel, German Nabel), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nobʰilos (compare Old Irish imbliu, Latin umbilicus, Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós)), diminutive of *h₃nobʰ- (compare English nave). Doublet of omphalos. More at nave.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
navel (plural navels)
- (anatomy) The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
- The central part or point of anything; the middle.
- 1637, John Milton, A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:
- Within the navel of this hideous wood,
Immured in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells,
Of Bacchus and Circe born, great Comus
- 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 […]
- A navel orange.
- 1981, Peter K. Thor, Edward V. Jesse, Economic Effects of Terminating Federal Marketing Orders for California-Arizona Oranges
- This contributed to a rapid rise in planted acreage in northern California, especially in navels, which are more suited to growing conditions there.
- 1981, Peter K. Thor, Edward V. Jesse, Economic Effects of Terminating Federal Marketing Orders for California-Arizona Oranges
- (historical) An eye on the underside of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.
SynonymsEdit
- bellybutton/belly button, nave (obsolete), umbilicus, see also Thesaurus:navel
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
remnant of umbilical cord
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See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
DutchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Middle Dutch navele, navel, from Old Dutch *navalo, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
navel m (plural navels, diminutive naveltje n)
Derived termsEdit
Middle EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic *nabulō, from Proto-Germanic *nabulô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nobʰilos; compare nave.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
navel (plural naveles)
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- “nāvel(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
SwedishEdit
EtymologyEdit
NounEdit
navel c
DeclensionEdit
Declension of navel | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | navel | naveln | navlar | navlarna |
Genitive | navels | navelns | navlars | navlarnas |