Illustrative Context

You could see his navel.

Target Sense

• The default term for the navel or ‘belly-button’ (i.e. where the umbilical cord was once attached) as a part of the human body.
• Enter the most normal, basic term in the language.
  • Avoid lexemes that are higher-register, technical or medical terms, e.g. English (!) umbilicus.
  • Avoid terms that are perceived as predominantly ‘baby-talk’ or unmistakably slang terms.
• In many languages there is an obvious straightforward term, e.g. French nombril, German (Bauch)Nabel. In many varieties of English, however, there is in fact a difficult choice between higher-register navel and colloquial register alternatives such as belly-button. In the variety of (British) English targeted in IE-CoR, belly-button is in fact selected as the more neutral, basic term on several IE-CoR criteria. The term navel is perceived as more markedly high-register than belly-button is low-register. Furthermore, the lexeme navel is not part of the basic, early vocabulary of native learners, and is generally not acquired until relatively late.
• Provide the basic term for the actual part of the human body. Avoid lexemes that predominantly carry figurative senses of origin, centre point, focal point or even rotation point, e.g. navel of the world.
• As ever, etymology and congacy should not be a criterion in lexeme selection. This is strict IE-CoR protocol in all cases, but re-emphasised here given the potential temptation with some of the Indo-European roots involved. Lexeme determination should be guided by semantics, not etymology, and by the standard IE-CoR selection criteria.