omphalos
Americannoun
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the navel; umbilicus.
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the central point.
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Greek Antiquity. a stone in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, thought to mark the center of the earth.
noun
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(in the ancient world) a sacred conical object, esp a stone. The most famous omphalos at Delphi was assumed to mark the centre of the earth
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the central point
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literary another word for navel
Etymology
Origin of omphalos
1840–50; < Greek omphalós; akin to navel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But for classical music, it’s the very omphalos, everything’s sort of seated, and it’s the hub.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 10, 2023
It reminded me of omphalos syndrome, named from the Greek word for “navel.”
From Slate • Oct. 29, 2014
Welcome to New York, the imperial omphalos of global capital.
From Slate • Oct. 29, 2014
But while it’s true the omphalos has at times overvalued its influence, it is a billion-dollar center of religious power with sway, like it or not, locally, nationally, and symbolically.
From Slate • Jan. 4, 2013
All day long she sat over a hole in the ground, the omphalos, the navel of the earth, breathing petrochemical fumes escaping from underneath.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
