English
nombril
Nombril comes from Middle French nombril ‘belly button’, from Latin umbilīcus ‘a navel’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nebʰ-1‘hub, navel’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nóbʰōl2‘navel’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbilīcus3‘a navel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*umbilīculus3reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400nonbril3‘belly button’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nombril4‘belly button’
- Englishtodaynombril4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin umbilicus, which cites Rix
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle French nombril
- 4 Wiktionary, English nombril
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nebʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl‘hub, navel’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nóbʰōlWiktionary, Latin umbilicus, which cites Rix‘navel’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbilīcusWiktionary, Middle French nombril‘a navel’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*umbilīculusWiktionary, Middle French nombrilreconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400nonbrilWiktionary, Middle French nombril‘belly button’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nombrilWiktionary, English nombril‘belly button’
- EnglishtodaynombrilWiktionary, English nombril
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ- ‘hub, navel’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl ‘navel’
through Latin umbilīcus ‘a navel’
Today it means
noun A point halfway between the fess point (centre of the shield) and the middle base (bottom) point of an escutcheon.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “nombril”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl, Latin umbilicus, Middle French nombril. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ- / nombril