navel

[ney-vuh l]

See more synonyms for navel on Thesaurus.com

noun

umbilicus(def 1).
the central point or middle of any thing or place.
Heraldry. nombril.

Origin of navel

before 900; Middle English; Old English nafela; cognate with Dutch navel, German Nabel, Old Norse nafli; akin to Sanskrit nābhīla, Latin umbilīcus, Greek omphalós

Can be confusednaval navel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for navel

umbilical, omphalic, umbilicate

Examples from the Web for navel

Contemporary Examples of navel

“Me neither,” Lohse says, gazing pityingly at his own navel.
An Ivy League Frat Boy’s Shallow Repentance
Stefan Beck
November 24, 2014
The singer Tom Jones growled hits like “Delilah” with shirts sweatily slashed to the navel.
Jude Law and the Great Male ‘He-Vage’ Crisis
Tim Teeman
May 20, 2014
The foam, designed to be injected into the navel, is composed of two liquid precursors.
New 'Suspended Animation' Procedure Saves Lives by Replacing Blood with a Cold Electrolyte Solution
Elizabeth Lopatto
April 2, 2014

Historical Examples of navel

It was like no wound on Earth—raw, crazy pain which started like a burn at his navel.
The Game of Rat and Dragon
Cordwainer Smith
Then again, in the human body the central point is naturally the navel.
Ten Books on Architecture
Vitruvius
It is often seen at the navel and sometimes in the groin as early as the second week.
The Mother and Her Child
William S. Sadler
He picked up a navel orange, and pointing to the navel said, "What is that?"
The Mother and Her Child
William S. Sadler
If this is so, "el Cuzco" has the significance of "the Navel" (of the World).
An Account of the Conquest of Peru
Pedro Sancho

British Dictionary definitions for navel

navel

noun

the scar in the centre of the abdomen, usually forming a slight depression, where the umbilical cord was attachedTechnical name: umbilicus Related adjective: umbilical
a central part, location, or point; middle
short for navel orange

Word Origin for navel

Old English nafela; related to Old Frisian navla, Old High German nabulo (German Nabel), Latin umbilīcus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for navel

Old English nafela, nabula, from Proto-Germanic *nabalan (cf. Old Norse nafli, Danish and Swedish navle, Old Frisian navla, Middle Dutch and Dutch navel, Old High German nabalo, German Nabel), from PIE *(o)nobh- "navel" (cf. Sanskrit nabhila "navel, nave, relationship;" Avestan nafa "navel," naba-nazdishta "next of kin;" Persian naf; Latin umbilicus "navel;" Old Prussian nabis "navel;" Greek omphalos; Old Irish imbliu). For Romanic words, see umbilicus.

"Navel" words from other roots include Lithuanian bamba, Sanskrit bimba- (also "disk, sphere"), Greek bembix, literally "whirlpool." Old Church Slavonic papuku, Lithuanian pumpuras are originally "bud." Considered a feminine sexual center since ancient times, and still in parts of the Middle East, India, and Japan. In medieval Europe, it was averred that "[t]he seat of wantonness in women is the navel." [Cambridge bestiary, C.U.L. ii.4.26] Words for it in most languages have a secondary sense of "center." Meaning "center or hub of a country" is attested in English from late 14c. To contemplate (one's) navel "meditate" is from 1933; hence navel-gazer (1952); cf. omphaloskepsis. Navel orange attested from 1888.

navel in Medicine

navel

[nā′vəl]

The mark on the surface of the abdomen that indicates where the umbilical cord was attached to the fetus during gestation.bellybutton umbilicus