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Synonyms for navel


Grammar : Adj
Spell : ney-vuh l
Phonetic Transcription : ˈneɪ vəl



Définition of navel

Origin :
  • Old English nafela, nabula, from Proto-Germanic *nabalan (cf. Old Norse nafli, Danish and Swedish navle, Old Frisian navla, Middle Dutch and Dutch navel, Old High German nabalo, German Nabel), from PIE *(o)nobh- "navel" (cf. Sanskrit nabhila "navel, nave, relationship;" Avestan nafa "navel," naba-nazdishta "next of kin;" Persian naf; Latin umbilicus "navel;" Old Prussian nabis "navel;" Greek omphalos; Old Irish imbliu). For Romanic words, see umbilicus.
  • "Navel" words from other roots include Lithuanian bamba, Sanskrit bimba- (also "disk, sphere"), Greek bembix, literally "whirlpool." Old Church Slavonic papuku, Lithuanian pumpuras are originally "bud." Considered a feminine sexual center since ancient times, and still in parts of the Middle East, India, and Japan. 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 English from late 14c. To contemplate (one's) navel "meditate" is from 1933; hence navel-gazer (1952); cf. omphaloskepsis. Navel orange attested from 1888.
  • adj of the navel
Example sentences :
  • It was like no wound on Earth—raw, crazy pain which started like a burn at his navel.
  • Extract from : « The Game of Rat and Dragon » by Cordwainer Smith
  • Then again, in the human body the central point is naturally the navel.
  • Extract from : « Ten Books on Architecture » by Vitruvius
  • It is often seen at the navel and sometimes in the groin as early as the second week.
  • Extract from : « The Mother and Her Child » by William S. Sadler
  • He picked up a navel orange, and pointing to the navel said, "What is that?"
  • Extract from : « The Mother and Her Child » by William S. Sadler
  • If this is so, "el Cuzco" has the significance of "the Navel" (of the World).
  • Extract from : « An Account of the Conquest of Peru » by Pedro Sancho
  • Long before this, as a rule, the navel has to the child been an object of curiosity.
  • Extract from : « The Sexual Life of the Child » by Albert Moll
  • They are fox-colored, with their navel on their back, towards the back part of their bodies.
  • Extract from : « Early Western Travels 1748-1846 » by Various
  • (If it is) suspended below (the navel, it is called) adhopavita.
  • Extract from : « The Medicine-Men of the Apache. (1892 N 09 / 1887-1888 (pages 443-604)) » by John G. Bourke
  • Yet these devils have spread that she has holes in her legs, and runs at her navel, and I know not what.
  • Extract from : « The Journal to Stella » by Jonathan Swift
  • By its navel it is joined to the stem that issues from the root.
  • Extract from : « Curious Creatures in Zoology » by John Ashton

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019