nave

1 of 2

noun (1)

ˈnāv 

: 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

Traditionally held under the glass nave of the Grand Palais, this season, guests were requested to enter through a side entrance into a quieter wing of the building. —Alice Pfeiffer, CNN Money, 11 July 2025

It was then hung around the nave of the Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy. —Asia London Palomba, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 July 2025

The wind instrument's dramatic and reverberating sounds have bellowed throughout the naves of churches for more than 1,000 years. —Aaron Valdez, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

After unveiling the main nave of the glass-and-steel building last year, just in time for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, officials on Thursday celebrated the completion of the five-year, 486 million euro renovation. —Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 19 June 2025

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 *h₃nob^h-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 *h₃nob^h-i̯o-), Old Danish naff, neuter, "nave," Danish, Swedish & Norwegian nav, Avestan nāfa- "navel, origin, blood relationship" (Indo-European *h₃nob^h-o-), Sanskrit nā́bhiḥ "nave, navel, midpoint, origin, kinship (Indo-European *h₃nob^h-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

Rhymes for nave

• brave
• cave
• clave
• crave
• fave
• gave
• grave
• knave
• lave
• pave
• rave
• shave

Kids Definition

nave

1 of 2 noun

ˈnāv 

: the hub of a wheel

nave

2 of 2 noun

: the long central main part of a church