nave

1 of 2

noun (1)

: the hub of a wheel

nave

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the main part of the interior of a church
especially : the long narrow central hall in a cruciform church that rises higher than the aisles flanking it to form a clerestory

Examples of nave in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Many of the vaults were found in an extension of the church that was built in the 15th century, but there were also burials in the church’s nave as well as its south and west wings. Moira Ritter, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 And as pallbearers walked Ms. Gentili’s coffin back up the aisle at the end of the service, chants once again echoed through the nave of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Liam Stack, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Enlarge / The 2019 fire exposed iron staples in the top walls, inside a column in the nave, and in the tribunes of the choir. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2024 The approved design, which will seat 76 people in its nave, includes an adjoining social hall where the congregation plans to serve coffee after church service, 19 parking spaces and landscaping design. Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2023 The man’s grave was found beneath the church’s south nave. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Jan. 2024 Inside, workers have started to remove scaffolding from the nave and the choir, and have nearly finished cleaning more than 450,000 square feet of stone surfaces that had been darkened by soot, dust and lead particles. Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 8 Dec. 2023 Christmas Day Organ Recital at Washington National Cathedral Washington National Cathedral organists Thomas Sheehan and Rebecca Ehren present a program of festive music in the nave of the cathedral. Chris Kelly, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023 Then there’s the very final scene, where the camera is perched high up as the Queen walks across the nave of the cathedral toward the door. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 15 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English nave, naff, going back to Old English nafu (also nafa, masculine n-stem), going back to Germanic *naƀō- (whence also Old Saxon nava "nave, hub," Middle Dutch nave, Old High German naba, Old Icelandic nǫf "fastening by which beams of a log house are held together at the corner, nave of a wheel"), going back to Indo-European *h3nobh-eh2, whence also Latvian naba "navel, nave of a wheel," Sanskrit nābhā- (in the personal name Nā́bhānédiṣṭaḥ "one closely related"), and with variant stem formations Old Prussian nabis "navel, nave," Sanskrit nábhyam "nave of a wheel" (Indo-European *h3nobh-i̯o-), Old Danish naff, neuter, "nave," Danish, Swedish & Norwegian nav, Avestan nāfa- "navel, origin, blood relationship" (Indo-European *h3nobh-o-), Sanskrit nā́bhiḥ "nave, navel, midpoint, origin, kinship (Indo-European *h3nobh-i-)

Note: Compare navel.

Noun (2)

Medieval Latin navis, from Latin, ship; akin to Old English nōwend sailor, Greek naus ship, Sanskrit nau

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1673, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nave was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near nave

Cite this Entry

“Nave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nave. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

nave

1 of 2 noun
: the hub of a wheel

nave

2 of 2 noun
: the long central main part of a church

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