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navel - 8 dictionary results

na⋅vel

[ney-vuhl]
–noun
1. umbilicus (def. 1).
2. the central point or middle of any thing or place.
3. Heraldry. nombril.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE nafela; c. D navel, G Nabel, ON nafli; akin to Skt nābhīla, L umbilīcus, Gk omphalós

nom⋅bril

[nom-bril]
–noun Heraldry.
the point in an escutcheon between the middle of the base and the fess point.
Also called navel.


Origin:
1555–65; < F: lit., navel
na·vel   (nā'vəl)   
n.  
  1. The mark on the surface of the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached during gestation. Also called umbilicus.
  2. A central point; a middle.

[Middle English, from Old English nafela; see nobh- in Indo-European roots.]

Navel

Na"vel\ (n[=a]"v'l), n. [AS. nafela, fr. nafu nave; akin to D. navel, G. nabel, OHG. nabolo, Icel. nafli, Dan. navle, Sw. nafle, L. umbilicus, Gr. 'omfalo`s, Skr. n[=a]bh[=i]la. [root]260. See Nave hub, and cf. Omphalic, Nombril, Umbilical.]

1. (Anat.) A mark or depression in the middle of the abdomen; the umbilicus. 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.
Language Translation for : navel
Spanish: ombligo,
German: der Nabel,
Japanese: へそ

navel 
O.E. nafela, from P.Gmc. *nabalan (cf. O.N. nafli, O.Fris. navla, M.Du. navel, O.H.G. nabalo, Ger. Nabel), from PIE *(o)nobh- "navel" (cf. Skt. nabhila "navel, nave, relationship;" Avestan nafa "navel," naba-nazdishta "next of kin;" Pers. naf; O.Prus. nabis "navel;" Gk. omphalos; O.Ir. imbliu). Cf. also L. umbilicus "navel," source of Sp. ombligo and O.Fr. lombril, lit. "the navel," from l'ombril, which by dissimilation became modern Fr. nombril (12c.). "Navel" words from other roots include Lith. bamba, Skt. bimba- (also "disk, sphere"), Gk. bembix, lit. "whirlpool." O.C.S. papuku, Lith. pumpuras are originally "bud." Considered a feminine sexual center since ancient times, and still in parts of the Middle East, India, and Japan. Even 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 Eng. from 1382. To contemplate (one's) navel "meditate" is from 1933; hence navel-gazer (1952). Navel orange attested from 1888.

Main Entry: na·vel
Pronunciation: 'nA-v&l
Function: noun
: a depression in the middle of the abdomen that marks the point of former attachment ofthe umbilical cord to the embryo called also umbilicus

navel na·vel (nā'vəl)
n.
The mark on the surface of the abdomen that indicates where the umbilical cord was attached to the fetus during gestation. Also called bellybutton, umbilicus.

navel

in anatomy, a small depression in the abdominal wall at the point of attachment of the umbilical cord (q.v.). It indicates the point through which the mammalian fetus obtained nourishment from its mother through the blood vessels of the umbilical cord.

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