nave

UK/neɪv/US/neɪv/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,193 of 15,258mostly written

Other forms: naves

The nave is the long central hall of a church where people sit. Down the nave, the nave roof, a wide nave.

It runs from the west door to the crossing, with the aisles at the sides. The name comes from the Latin for a ship, either from the shape of the roof upside down or from the old image of the church as a vessel carrying its people.

Definitions of nave

1nounnaveThe long central hall of a church where people sit.C1
“The choir walked slowly down the nave towards the altar.”

nave is a part of a church.

Where it comes from

Latin navis means a ship. The name may come from the shape of the roof or from the church as a ship.

Latin
nāvem
English, today
nave

Ultimately from Latin nāvem, singular accusative of nāvis, possibly via a Romance source. a doublet of nef and nau.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Buildings & Architecture

Practise this word

nave in the wild

When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle.
Nave
Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.
Nave
Italian nave with the same meaning) due to the overall shape of the town when seen from the Maddalena mountain.
Nave, Lombardy
In larger medieval churches it contained choir-stalls, seating aligned with the side of the church, so at right-angles to the seating for the congregation in the nave.
Choir (architecture)
A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height.
Hall church

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

navel

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