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ombilical

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Etymology and origin of the French word ombilical

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1490 Le Guidon en françois More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Latin umbilīcus

Pronunciation

  • /ɔ̃.bi.li.kal/[1]

Forms

ombilical (feminine ombilicale, masculine plural ombilicaux, feminine plural ombilicales)[1] First written umbilical, in partie umbilicalle (1490); ombilical from 1541.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French ombilic + -al.[2][5][4][1] The noun, recorded in 1503, was borrowed from Latin umbilīcus (“navel”).[6] Bloch and Wartburg refer to nombril for its history.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The French Guidon, the surgery of Guy de Chauliac, has partie umbilicalle in 1490, “the part of the navel”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has remained mainly anatomical: arteres ombilicales is found in 1541 in Canappe and, above all, cordon ombilical (1754), the cord joining the fetus to the placenta, which took the figurative value of “original bond”.[2][7] It is also used in some technical languages such as geology, for what is shaped like a navel, unlike ombiliqué (1765) “having a navel”.[7][4]

Timeline

  • 1490 – Partie umbilicalle in the French Guidon.[2]
  • 1541 – Arteres ombilicales in Canappe.[2]
  • 1754 – Cordon ombilical is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (anatomy) Relating to the navel, umbilical: hernie ombilicale, région ombilicale.[4][2][8]
  2. Cordon ombilical: the umbilical cord; figuratively, an original bond not yet cut.[8][7]
  3. (science, technical) Shaped like a navel.[4][7]

Noun

  1. A connector linking a craft or a person to supply and control systems by a bundle of cables and pipes.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Ombilical.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ombilical. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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