Etymograph

English

umbilicus

Umbilicus comes from Latin umbilīcus ‘navel’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nebʰ-1‘hub, navel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nóbʰōl2‘navel’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbilīcus2‘navel’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1763umbilicus2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English umbilicus
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1763, William Massey: “The ends of the umbilicus were called cornua (i.e.…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nebʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl‘hub, navel’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃nóbʰōlWiktionary, English umbilicus‘navel’reconstructedderived within Proto-Indo-European
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEumbilīcusWiktionary, English umbilicus‘navel’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1763umbilicusWiktionary, English umbilicus. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1763, William Massey: “The ends of the umbilicus were called cornua (i.e.…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃nebʰ- ‘hub, navel’

nave, neb, 11 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl ‘navel’

navel, 4 more

Today it means

noun A navel.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “umbilicus”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *h₃nóbʰōl. 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- / umbilicus

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