Word
navel
US/ˈneɪvəɫ/
UK/nˈeɪvəl/
Definition
n. the small hole in the middle of your stomach where you were attached to your mother while you were a baby. It is also called the belly button.
n. the small depression or scar on the abdomen where the umbilical cord was attached during fetal development. Often used in literary or anatomical contexts to refer to the central point of the body.
Examples
“The baby's navel is still red and sore.”
“The surgeon made a small incision just below the navel to access the internal organs.”
“In many ancient cultures, the navel was considered the center of the body and the point from which life energy flowed outward to the limbs.”
Examples
simple
“The baby's navel is still red and sore.”
contextual
“The surgeon made a small incision just below the navel to access the internal organs.”
complex
“In many ancient cultures, the navel was considered the center of the body and the point from which life energy flowed outward to the limbs.”
Real-World Examples
“At first, Morey called his board the SNAKE, which stood for “side, navel, arm, knee, elbow.” These body parts are key to riding the board.” Etymology
From Middle English navel, navele, from Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic nabulō, from Proto-Germanic nabalô (“navel”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃nóbʰōl (“navel”), diminutive of h₃nebʰ- (“hub; navel”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian nâle (“navel”), Dutch navel (“navel”), German Nabel (“navel”), Vilamovian nowuł (“navel”), Yiddish נאָפּל (nopl, “navel”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk navle (“navel”), Icelandic nafli (“navel”), Swedish navel (“navel”); also Irish imleacán (“navel”), Scottish Gaelic ilmeag, imleag (“navel; nave”), Latin umbilīcus (“navel”), Greek αφαλός (afalós), ομφαλός (omfalós, “navel”), Old Prussian nabis (“navel”), Armenian անիվ (aniv, “wheel”), Central Kurdish ناوک (nawik, “navel”), Persian ناف (nâf, “navel”), Sanskrit नाभि (nābhi, “navel; centre”), Doublet of omphalos. More at nave.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.