navel

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), Sanskrit नाभि (nābhi)), diminutive of *h₃nobʰ-, equivalent to nave + -el (diminutive suffix)). Doublet of omphalos. More at nave.

noun

1. (anatomy) The indentation or bump remaining in the abdomen of mammals where the umbilical cord was attached before birth.
2. The central part or point of anything; the middle.
   Within the navel of this hideous wood, Immured in cypress shades, a sorcerer dwells, Of Bacchus and Circe born, great Comus 1637, John Milton, A Mask presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634
3. A navel orange.
   This contributed to a rapid rise in planted acreage in northern California, especially in navels, which are more suited to growing conditions there. 1981, Peter K. Thor, Edward V. Jesse, Economic Effects of Terminating Federal Marketing Orders for California-Arizona Oranges
4. (historical) An eye on the underside of a carronade for securing it to a carriage.