Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The mark on the surface of the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached during gestation. Also called umbilicus.
- n. A central point; a middle.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In anatomy, a mark or scar in the middle of the belly where the umbilical cord was attached in the fetus; the umbilieus; the omphalos.
- n. The central point or part of anything; the middle.
- n. The nave of a wheel.
- n. In ordnance, same as narel bolt.
Wiktionary
- n. anatomy The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
- n. The central part or point of anything; the middle.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Anat.) A mark or depression in the middle of the abdomen; the umbilicus; called also
belly button in humans. See umbilicus. - n. The central part or point of anything; the middle.
- n. (Gun.) An eye on the under side of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a scar where the umbilical cord was attached
- n. the center point or middle of something
Etymologies
- From Middle English, navel, navele, from Old English nafela, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (compare West Frisian nâle, Dutch navel, German Nabel), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nobʰilos (compare Irish imleac, Latin umbilicus, Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós)), diminutive of *h₃nobʰ- (compare English nave). More at nave. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English nafela; see nobh- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Back at Revolver, a 20-something wearing a collared shirt unbuttoned to his navel is approached and asked what he thinks of Ben Quayle.”
The Washington Post: Ben Quayle's run for Congress, interrupted by Internet columnist Nik Richie
“A thin, bright red streak that stretches from my sternum to a couple inches above my navel is a reminder of this.”
“As one pulp writer said, exposing a navel is sexy.”
“Lucas has not only flopped before, he's delivered some big whoppin 'navel-poppin' skin-burnin 'high-board pool-emptying bellyflops before, but sooner or later, he always manages to bob back to what's left of the surface.”
“With NASA mired in navel-gazing and bureaucracy, it makes sense to support private development of outer space.”
“The rise in navel-revealing fashions has spurred a rise in navel-augmentation surgery.”
“He has only washed the top half of his body and probably his navel is still a nest of coal dust, but even so it takes some skill to get pass-ably clean in a single basin of water.”
“The navel is here compared to a round cup or goblet, that wants not any of the agreeable liquor that one would wish to find in it, such as David's cup that ran over (Ps.xxiii. 5), well shaped, and not as that miserable infant whose navel was not cut, Ezek. xvi.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“147 A large hollow navel is looked upon not only as a beauty, but in children it is held a promise of good growth.”
“2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘navel’.
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SCIE - EU nomenclature
All the scientific words found in the official EU nomenclature. For the screening I used Vocabgrabber of the Visual Thesaurus.
silicon, silica, shrimp, shelve, shallot, serine, seedling, septic, secretin, seaweed, screening, Scomber and 1171 more...
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LIT - Ulysses - key words and phrases
vanish, number one, archangel, commodious, dominie, rubble, glisten, morose, spindle, ventilation, Blessed, christian and 503 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Describing People
eye, hair, mouth, nose, tooth, head, face, arm, hand, finger, lip, leg and 212 more...
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words about piercings
needles, metal, piercing, tongue, surface, nape, ears, mouth, industrial, nose, tragus, webbing and 11 more...
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To a point
to the point
dot, betoken, cusp, nib, neb, nadir, bespeak, eutectic, punctilio, fulcrum, stretch a point, make a point and 69 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Vocab ##5
appint, monarch, counterpart, muse, bestow, unwitting, aghast, admonish, wage, decree, cavalry, phalanx and 126 more...
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vozcelik's Words
cranny, tummy, nook, sinister, cajole, frugal, chafe, wimp, booger, patriarchy, indifference, mire and 162 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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Words That Sound Dirty but Really Aren't
annals, assassinate, bisect, bubbly, caucus, caulk, colloquialism, concoct, condominium, congeal, congenital, convex and 131 more...
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Tunie: The Devil and the Feathery Wife
Recorded by Martin Carthy.
Now there was an old farmer lived over the hill
And a poor old fellow they say
He was plagued by a scolding wife
The worst misfortune that day<...demons, dwell, quail, damned, hiss, steam, navel, tea, feathers, barrel, stark naked, droppings and 27 more...
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Vocab #5
appoint, monarch, counterpart, muse, bestow, aghast, wage, admonish, decree, cavalry, phalanx, navel and 16 more...
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Citrus
I thought making a list of citrus fruits would be easy. Turns out citrus trees hybridize easily and most of the hybrids fruits have names, often formed by hybridizing the common names.
orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, tangerine, clementine, ugli, bergamot, pomelo, pummelo, ortanique, citron and 87 more...
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on the body
palm, wrist, sternum, breast, digit, toes, philtrum, pinky, lips, tongue, palate, skin and 80 more...
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Image
bur, birdsong, wing, arm, crane, shade, hue, dye, pont, ferry, triangle, ridge and 41 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for navel.
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