View synonyms for omphalos

omphalos

[ om-fuh-luhs ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

the navel; umbilicus.
the central point.
Greek Antiquity. a stone in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, thought to mark the center of the earth.

omphalos

/ ˈɒmfəˌlɒs /

(in the ancient world) a sacred conical object, esp a stone. The most famous omphalos at Delphi was assumed to mark the centre of the earth
the central point
See navel
literary.
another word for navel

1840–50; < Greek omphalós; akin to navel

Greek: navel

It is the omphalos, this city that straddles two steamboat rivers at the continental crossroads.

On the right, the god is seated on the omphalos, holding up his right hand.

Delphi also contained the “Omphalos,” a sacred stone bound with fillets, supposed to mark the centre of the earth.

From which omphalos or hub of the universe he will direct his shining team even to the far Hesperides of Richmond or of Windsor.

Among the former is the famous Omphalos or Navel-stone, on which Apollo is often represented as sitting.

Omphalos, om′fal-us, n. the navel: a raised central point: a boss.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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