Etymograph

English

nave

Nave comes from Latin nāvem.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāvem1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1918nave1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nave
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnāvemWiktionary, English nave
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1918naveWiktionary, English nave. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing…”

Linked words

through Latin nāvem

nef, 2 more

Another origin of nave

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nebʰ-‘navel, hub’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nabō‘nave, hub’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nabu‘nave, hub’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150nafu‘nave (of wheel), hub’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nave
  6. Englishtodaynave

Today it means

noun The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nave”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin nāvem / nave

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