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Webster 1913 Edition


Navel

Na′vel

(nā′v’l)
,
Noun.
[AS.
nafela
, fr.
nafu
nave; akin to D.
navel
, G.
nabel
, OHG.
nabolo
, Icel.
nafli
, Dan.
navle
, Sw.
nafle
, L.
umbilicus
, Gr.
ὀμφαλός
, Skr.
nābhīla
. √260. See
Nave
hub, and cf.
Omphalic
,
Nombril
,
Umbilical
.]
1.
(Anat.)
A mark or depression in the middle of the abdomen; the umbilicus; called also
belly button
in humans. See
Umbilicus
.
2.
The central part or point of anything; the middle.
Within the
navel
of this hideous wood,
Immured in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells.
Milton.
3.
(Gun.)
An eye on the under side of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.
Navel gall
,
a bruise on the top of the chine of the back of a horse, behind the saddle.
Johnson.
Navel point
.
(Her.)
Same as
Nombril
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Navel

NAVEL

,
Noun.
The center of the lower part of the abdomen, or the point where the umbilical cord passes out of the fetus. The umbilical cord is a collection of vessels by which the fetus of an animal communicates with the parent by means of the placenta, to which it is attached.

Definition 2024


navel

navel

English

A navel.

Alternative forms

  • navil (obsolete)

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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

Translations

Anagrams


Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology

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

Noun

navel m (plural navels, diminutive naveltje n)

  1. navel

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse nafli.

Noun

navel c

  1. navel

Declension