Antonyms for navels

Grammar : Noun

Spell : ney-vuh l

Phonetic Transcription : ˈneɪ vəl

Definition of navels

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.

As in center : noun middle point
As in midpoint : noun center

Example sentences :

There are store of them in this part of the world: I observed that the navels of these animals grew upon their backs.'
Extract from : « History of the Buccaneers of America » by James Burney

He lay on them, and breathed his breath into their mouths, noses and navels, and danced round them.
Extract from : « Myth, Ritual, and Religion, Vol. 1 » by Andrew Lang

The name of the animal is connected with the dorsal gland; the animal thus appeared to possess two navels.
Extract from : « The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia » by Frank Evers Beddard

Few are the men that can work on their navels,—only some Brahmins that I have heard of.
Extract from : « The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Volume VI, Familiar Letters » by Henry David Thoreau

In this island there are animals like deer, who have pouches 101containing this musk, attached to their navels.
Extract from : « A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499 » by Unknown

Synonyms for navels

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