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umbilicus

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English

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōlder.
Latin umbilīcusbor.
English umbilicus

    Borrowed from Latin umbilīcus (“navel”).

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    umbilicus (plural umbilici or umbilicuses)

    1. (anatomy) A navel.
    2. (loosely, sometimes proscribed) Umbilical cord
      • 1834, Sporting Magazine, page 179:
        Although I have been tempted to cut the umbilicus, and pass a ligature round the remaining portion on one occasion, yet I now deem such interference officious and uncalled - for at this eventful period.
      • 1980, Morty Sklar, Jim Mulac, Editor's Choice: Literature & Graphics from the U.S. Small Press, 1965-1977 : Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Graphics : Selected from Nominations by Editors of Independent, Non-commercial Presses & Magazines:
        She ate the umbilicus, and the afterbirth, which is supposed to be good for them. Then she licked off the first kitten and was ready for the next.
      • 2000 May 8, David Guterson, East of the Mountains, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 263:
        Then he tied the umbilicus in two places, using bits of Manila twine, and made his cut between them.
    3. (botany) A hilum.
    4. (zoology) A depression or opening in the center of the base of many spiral shells.
    5. (zoology) Either of the two apertures in the calamus of a feather.
    6. (space science) A tube connecting an astronaut or spacecraft to the mothership, through which supplies and samples can be transferred.
      • 1966, Aerospace Technology Division, Soviet Biotechnology and Bioastronautics: Report, Library of Congress, page 10:
        The importance of the visual analyzer is further increased when the cosmonaut is in free space with only the slight support of an umbilicus.
      • 1977, James W. Head, United States. National Aeronautics, Space Administration, Significant achievements in the planetary geology program, 1975-1976:
        Penetrators will be connected by an umbilicus to an afterbody containing imaging and meteorological instruments.
      • 1994, Michael J. Nelson (head writer), "Girls Town", episode 601, Mystery Science Theater 3000
        How about a 270 mile tether to an orbiting satellite? Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Frank! Prepare to receive the umbilicus!
      • 2013, Treion Muller, Matthew Murdoch, The Webinar Manifesto: Never Design, Deliver, or Sell Lousy Webinars Again!, RosettaBooks, →ISBN:
        Ninety minutes into the twenty-six hour flight, Leonov opened the outer hatch and pushed himself out to the end of his 17-foot umbilicus — becoming the first man to walk in space.
    7. (geometry, obsolete) One of the foci of an ellipse or other curve.
    8. (geometry) A point of a surface at which the curvatures of the normal sections are all equal to each other.
      A sphere may be osculatory to the surface in every direction at an umbilicus.
    9. (historical) An ornamented or painted ball or boss fastened at each end of the stick on which manuscripts were rolled.
      • 1763, William Massey, The Origin and Progress of Letters:
        The ends of the umbilicus were called cornua (i.e. horns) in Latin, and were usually adorned with some pretty device

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    Translations

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    Latin

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    Etymology

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      From Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl, though with a complex series of intermediary developments. According to De Vaan, the original l-stem was probably thematicized to *-(e)lo-, to which the suffix -īcus was added. If this proposal is accepted, the term would follow a development of *omb-(e/o)l > *omb-elo- > attested umbilīcus.[1] The derivation of this term from the zero-grade *h₃m̥bʰ- could serve as an example of Rix's Law, according to which *#h₃NC- would yield #oNC-.[2] Höfler, who rejects the existence of Rix's Law in Latin, alternatively suggests schwebeablaut in the root as an explanation, in which case the term would continue *h₃enbʰ-.[3] Schrijver, however, rejects schwebeablaut as a possible explanation, arguing that this phenomenon cannot occur within the same paradigm.[4]

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      umbilīcus m (genitive umbilīcī); second declension

      1. (anatomy) a navel
      2. the middle or center
      3. the ornamented end of a scroll

      Declension

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      Second-declension noun.

      singular plural
      nominative umbilīcus umbilīcī
      genitive umbilīcī umbilīcōrum
      dative umbilīcō umbilīcīs
      accusative umbilīcum umbilīcōs
      ablative umbilīcō umbilīcīs
      vocative umbilīce umbilīcī

      Descendants

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      References

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      1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “umbilīcus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 639
      2. ^ Meiser, Gerhard (2017), “Chapter VIII: Italic”, in Klein, Jared S., Joseph, Brian D., Fritz, Matthias, editors, Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics: An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft [Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science]; 41.2), volume 2, Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, →ISBN, § The phonology of Italic, page 746
      3. ^ Höfler, Stefan (2025), “Rix’s Law in Latin and the Etymology of īnfula ‘band, bandage”, in Pultrová, Lucie, Vaníková, Martina, editors, Exploring Latin: Structures, Functions, Meaning: Volume I: Word. Volume II: Clause and Discourse‎[1], Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, →DOI, pages 9-10
      4. ^ Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1991), The reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European laryngeals in Latin (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 2), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 61
      • “umbilicus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “umbilicus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “umbilicus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
      • “umbilicus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “umbilicus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
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