# navel
## English
### Alternative forms

* navil (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle English navel, navele, from Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic *nabulō, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô (compare West Frisian nâle, Dutch navel, German Nabel), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl (compare Old Irish imbliu, Latin umbilīcus, Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós), Persian ناف (nâf), Kurdish navik, Sanskrit नाभि (nābhi)), diminutive of *h₃nobʰ-, equivalent to nave +‎ -el (diminutive suffix)). Doublet of omphalos. More at nave.

### Pronunciation

* enPR: nā'vəl, IPA: /ˈneɪvəl/
* (Southern US, obsolete) enPR: nā'bəl, IPA: /ˈneɪbəl/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -eɪvəl
* Homophone: naval

### Noun

navel (plural navels)
* (anatomy) The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of placental mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
* The central part or point of anything; the middle.
** 1637, John Milton, A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634:Within the navel of this hideous wood, Immured in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells, Of Bacchus and Circe born, great Comus
** 1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:Sweeter than the muſk of Tatar, the morning breeze from the navel of every flower raviſhed perfume.
** 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:We sat alfresco on the edge of a “square,” in reality a pond of cobbly mud with a plinth plonked in its navel […]
* A navel orange.
** 1981, Peter K. Thor, Edward V. Jesse, Economic Effects of Terminating Federal Marketing Orders for California-Arizona Oranges:This contributed to a rapid rise in planted acreage in northern California, especially in navels, which are more suited to growing conditions there.
* (historical) An eye on the underside of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.

#### Synonyms

* bellybutton/belly button, nave (obsolete), umbilicus, see also Thesaurus:navel

#### Derived terms

* contemplate one's navel
* fuzzy navel
* navel gall
* navel-gaze
* navel-gazer
* navel-gazey
* navel gazing
* navel-gazing
* navel orange
* navel point
* navel ring
* navel string
* navel-string
* navel-watching

#### Translations

Adyghe: шдиху (šdixʷu)
Afrikaans: nawel, naeltjie (af)
Aklanon: pusod
Albanian: kërthizë (sq) f
Amharic: እምብርት (ʾəmbərt)
Andi: цӏцӏунно (ccʼunno)
Arabic: سُرَّة f (surra)
Egyptian Arabic: سرة f (surra)
Hijazi Arabic: سرّة f (surra, ṣurra)
Archi: цӏан (cʼan)
Armenian: պորտ (hy) (port)
Aromanian: buric
Assamese: নাই (nai), নাভি (nabhi), নাড়ী (nari)
Asturian: embeligru (ast) m, ombligu (ast) m
Avar: цӏину (cʼinu)
Aymara: kururu
Azerbaijani: göbək (az)
Baluchi: ناپگ (nápag)
Bashkir: кендек (kendek)
Bau Bidayuh: pisod
Belarusian: пупо́к m (pupók), пуп m (pup)
Bengali: নাভি (bn) (nabhi)
Berber:
Tashelhit: abuḍ m
Bhojpuri: नाभि (nābhi)
Big Nambas: p'ət
Bislama: nabuton
Borôro: künabo
Breton: begel (br)
Bulgarian: пъп m (pǎp)
Burmese: ချက် (my) (hkyak)
Catalan: melic (ca) m, llombrígol (ca) m
Central Dusun: pusod
Central Melanau: pused
Chakma: 𑄚𑄞𑄨 (nābhi)
Chamicuro: mocho
Chechen: цӏонга (cʼonga)
Chepang: तोय्
Cherokee: ᎤᏗᏴᏓᏛᎢ (udiyvdadvi)
Chichewa: mchombo
Chinese:
Cantonese: 肚臍 / 肚脐 (tou$^5$ ci$^4$), 肚臍窿 / 肚脐窿 (tou$^5$ ci$^4$ lung$^1$)
Hakka: 肚臍 / 肚脐 (tú-chhì), 肚臍窟 / 肚脐窟 (tú-chhì-fut)
Hokkien: 肚臍 / 肚脐 (zh-min-nan) (tō͘-châi), 腹臍 / 腹脐 (pak-châi)
Mandarin: 肚臍 / 肚脐 (zh) (dùqí), 肚臍眼 / 肚脐眼 (zh) (dùqíyǎn)
Chuvash: кӑвапа (kăvap̬a)
Coptic: ϧⲉⲗⲡⲓ f (xelpi)
Cornish: begel m
Crimean Tatar: köbek
Czech: pupek (cs) m
Danish: navle (da) c
Dupaningan Agta: pusad
Dutch: navel (nl) m
Egyptian: (ẖpꜣ)
Erzya: почо (počo)
Esperanto: umbiliko (eo)
Estonian: naba (et)
Faroese: nalvi m
Fijian: vico
Finnish: napa (fi)
French: nombril (fr) m, ombilic (fr) m
Friulian: umbriçon m, umbričon, bugnigul m
Galician: embigo (gl) m, beligo m
Georgian: ჭიპი (č̣iṗi)
German: Bauchnabel (de) m, Nabel (de) m
Greek: αφαλός (el) m (afalós) ομφαλός (el) m (omfalós)
Ancient: ὀμφαλός m (omphalós)
Greenlandic: qalaseq
Guaraní: puru'â
Gujarati: નાભિ (gu) (nābhi), ડૂંટી f (ḍū̃ṭī)
Hausa: cibiya
Hawaiian: piko
Hebrew: טַבּוּר (he) (tabúr), פופיק (he) m (púpik)
Hiligaynon: pusod
Hindi: नाभि (hi) f (nābhi), नाफ़ f (nāf)
Hungarian: köldök (hu)
Icelandic: nafli (is) m
Ido: umbiliko (io)
Ilocano: puseg
Indonesian: pusat (id), pusar (id)
Ingrian: napa
Ingush: цӏонг (cʼong)
Iranun: pused
Irish: imleacán m
Ishkashimi: ناف (nāf)
Italian: ombelico (it) m, (unusual) onfalo m
Japanese: 臍 (ja) (へそ, heso)
Javanese: tengah (jv)
Kannada: ನಾಭಿ (kn) (nābhi)
Kapampangan: pusad, pusud
Karachay-Balkar: киндик (kindik)
Kazakh: кіндік (kındık)
Khiamniungan Naga: thāilúi
Khmer: ផ្ចិត (km) (phcət)
Kimaragang: pusod
Korean: 배꼽 (ko) (baekkop)
Kumyk: гинник (ginnik)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: navik (ku) f
Kyrgyz: киндик (ky) (kindik)
Lao: ສາຍບື (lo) (sāi bư̄)
Latgalian: pupona
Latin: umbilīcus m
Latvian: naba f
Lithuanian: bamba f
Livonian: nabā
Lotud: pusod
Low German: Navel m
Lule Sami: náhpe
Macedonian: папок m (papok)
Malagasy: foitra (mg)
Malay: pusat, pusar (ms), pusar (ms)
Malayalam: പൊക്കിൾ (ml) (pokkiḷ)
Maltese: żokra f
Mansaka: posod
Maori: pito, ihonga
Maranao: posed
Megleno-Romanian: buric m
Middle English: navel
Mongolian: хүйс (mn) (xüjs), хүй (mn) (xüj)
Nanai: хуйму (hujmu)
Navajo: atsʼééʼ
Nepali: नाइटो (nāiṭo)
Ngarrindjeri: pulanggi
Nogai: киндик (kindik)
Norman: nombrîn m (Jersey), naombrin m (Guernsey), nõmbri m (Sark)
Norwegian: navle m
Occitan: embonilh (oc), monilh (oc), embonígol (oc)
Ojibwe: (my navel) indis
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: пѫпъ m (pǫpŭ)
Old East Slavic: пупъ m (pupŭ)
Oromo: hadhuura
Ottoman Turkish: گوبك (göbek), ناف (nâf), سره (surre)
Pashto: د نامه غوټه (ps) f (d'nāmǝ ǧôṭa), نو (ps) (nu)
Pennsylvania German: Nawwel m
Persian: ناف (fa) (nâf)
Plautdietsch: Nowel m
Polish: pępek (pl) m
Portuguese: umbigo (pt) m
Punjabi: ਧੁੰਨੀ f (dhunnī)
Quechua: puti, pupu, puputi
Romanian: buric (ro) n
Romansch: umbli
Rungus: pusod
Russian: пупо́к (ru) m (pupók), пуп (ru) m (pup)
Sabah Bisaya: pusod
Sanskrit: नाभि (sa) f (nābhi), नाभी (sa) f (nābhī)
Santali: ᱵᱩᱠᱟᱹ (bukă)
Sardinian: imbílicu, imbírigu
Scottish Gaelic: imleag f
Sebop: pucet
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: пу̏пак m
Roman: pȕpak (sh) m
Sicilian: viḍḍicu m
Slovak: pupok (sk) m
Slovene: pópek (sl) m
Somali: xudhur
Southern Altai: киндик (kindik)
Spanish: ombligo (es) m, pupo (es) m, pupu (es) m
Sundanese: bujal (su)
Swahili: kitovu (sw) class 7/8
Swedish: navel (sv) c
Sylheti: ꠘꠣꠁꠝꠥꠠꠣꠟ (naimuṛal)
Tagal Murut: pusor
Tagalog: pusod
Tajik: ноф (nof)
Tamil: தொப்புள் (ta) (toppuḷ)
Tarifit: tmiṭ f, taɛebbuṭ f
Tatar: кендек (tt) (kendek)
Tausug: pusud
Tboli: huhed
Telugu: నాభి (te) (nābhi), బొడ్డు (te) (boḍḍu)
Tetum: husar
Thai: สะดือ (th) (sà-dʉʉ)
Tibetan: ལྟེ་བ (lte ba)
Timugon Murut: pusor
Tocharian B: kele
Tok Pisin: hap bel
Tooro: omukundi class 3
Turkish: göbek (tr), göbek deliği
Turkmen: göbek
Tuvan: хиндик (xindik)
Udi: цӏан (c̣an)
Udmurt: гогы (gogy)
Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎗 (šr)
Ukrainian: пупо́к m (pupók), пуп m (pup)
Urdu: نابھی f (nābhi), ناف f (nāf)
Uyghur: كىندىك (kindik)
Uzbek: kindik (uz)
Venetan: bonigolo m, bonigol, bunigolo m, bunigol, bonigoło
Veps: naba
Vietnamese: rốn (vi), rún (vi)
Vilamovian: nowuł m
Volapük: numbril
Võro: naba
Welsh: bogail m or f
West Coast Bajau: ponsot
White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
Woiwurrung: meendook
Yagnobi: нофа (nofa)
Yakut: киин (kiin)
Yami: pesed
Yiddish: פּופּיק m (pupik), נאָפּל m (nopl)
Zhuang: saejndw :

#### See also

* innie
* outie

### Verb

navel (third-person singular simple present navels, present participle naveling or navelling, simple past and past participle naveled or navelled)
* (literary and poetic) To be in the middle of a landscape.
** 1818, Lord Byron, “Canto IV”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Canto the Fourth, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, stanza CLXXIII, page 89:Lo, Nemi! navelled in the woody hills / So far, that the uprooting wind which tears / The oak from his foundation, and which spills / The ocean o’er its boundary, and bears / Its foam against the skies, reluctant spares / The oval mirror of thy glassy lake; […]
** 1819, J[eremiah] H[olmes] Wiffen, “Aspley Wood”, in Aonian Hours; and Other Poems, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, canto II, stanza LXII, page 102:Within the shade a ruined temple stands / To sight conspicuous, navelled in the pines, / Speaking of Grecian art, since Vandal hands / Defaced her structures, and despoiled her shrines.
** 1835 August, Ollapod [pseudonym], “Ollapodiana. Number Four.”, in The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, volume VI, number 2, New York, N.Y.: [Lewis Gaylord] Clark and [Clement] Edson, […], page 122:I rejoice as I call back those pleasant times, when in the casement of our seminary, I rested my telescope on my shut-up Virgil, and looked off among the far-off hills in the lap of which the edifice was naveled, and saw the pretty girls of the farm-houses, […]
** 1965, C[ecil] Day Lewis, “Madrigal for Lowell House”, in The Room & Other Poems, London: Jonathan Cape, page 53:The crimson berry tree navelled upon this court / Twinkles a coded message, a wind-sun tingling chord, / Curious round her foot saunters one blue jay: […]

### References

* ↑ Stanley, Oma (1937) “III. The Consonants”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 11, page 73.

### Anagrams

* Alven, Levan, elvan, levan, venal

## Dutch
### Etymology

From Middle Dutch navele, navel, from Old Dutch *navalo, from Proto-Germanic *nabalô.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnaː.vəl/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: na‧vel
* Rhymes: -aːvəl

### Noun

navel m (plural navels, diminutive naveltje n)
* navel

#### Derived terms

* navelpiercing
* navelstaren
* navelstreng
* naveltrui

#### Descendants

* Afrikaans: nawel, nauel

### Further reading

* navel on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{nl}$

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* navele, navill, navyll, navle, naule, nawle, novel, novle, novele, nowle

### Etymology

From Old English nafola, from Proto-West Germanic *nabulō, from Proto-Germanic *nabulô; compare nave.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈnaːvəl(ə)/

### Noun

navel (plural naveles)
* navel (of a human or animal)
* centre, point, hub

#### Descendants

* English: navel
* Scots: nyvel

#### References

* “nāvel(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Norse nafli.

### Noun

navel c
* (anatomy) navel, belly button
* (figuratively) a navel (hub)

#### Derived terms

* navelsträng (“umbilical cord”)

### References

* navel in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* navel in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* navel in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
* Svensk MeSH

### Anagrams

* alven, elvan, laven, valen