ὀμφαλός

ὀμφαλός, ὁ, A. navel, Il. 4.525, 13.568, Hdt. 7.60, etc. 2. umbilical cord, Hp. Superf. 8, Oct. 10, Sor. 1.57, Gal. 15.387. II. anything like a navel, 1. knob or boss, Il. 11.34 ; esp. in middle of shield, 13.192, etc. 2. button or knob in the middle of a yoke, 24.273. 3. plug or valve closing outlet of bath, Timarch. ap. Ath. 11.501f ; cf. βαλανειόμφαλος. 4. pl., knobs at ends of stick round which books wererolled, Luc. Merc.Cond. 41, Ind. 7,16,AP 9.540. III. centre or middle point : νήσῳ ἐν ἀμφιρύτῃ, ὅθι τʼ ὀ. ἐστι θαλάσσης Od. 1.50 (only here in Od.) ; later Delphi (or rather a round stone in the Delphic temple) was called ὀ. as marking the middle point of Earth, Pi. P. 4.74, B. 4.4, A. Eu. 40, 166(lyr.), cf. Pl. R. 427c, Str. 9.3.6, Paus. 10.16.3 ; also of an altar at Megara, Simon. 107.9 (= IG 7.53) ; ἄστεος ὀ., at Athens, Pi. Fr. 75.3 ; νήσου ὀ., of Enna in Sicily, v.l. in Call. Cer. 15, cf. Cic. Verr. 4.48.106. 2. central part of a rose, containing the seed-vessel, Arist. Pr. 907a20 ; of a pomegranate, Hp. Nat.Mul. 44, Gal. 12.649 ; knob on an oak-gall, Thphr. HP 3.7.5 ; button-shaped stalk of the fig, Gp. 10.56.2. 3. centre of an army, Poll. 1.126 ; prop. the point at which an army is divided into two wings, Ascl. Tact. 2.6, cf. Arr. Tact. 8.4, Ael. Tact. 7.3. 4. keystone of an arched vault, Arist. Mu. 399b30. 5. vault, tomb, MAMA 3.402,712 (Corycus). IV. γῆς ὀ., = κοτυληδών, navel-wort, Cotyledon Umbilicus, Ps.-Dsc. 4.91. (Cf. Lat. umbilicus, umbo, prob. from ombh- : Skt. nābhis, OE. nafel ‘navel’, apptly. from ombh-.)