Knave or nave?
knave is a noun meaning “A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier”; nave is a noun meaning “The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal…”. They sound the same (/neɪv/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) nave is about 3.6 times as common as knave.
What is the difference between knave and nave?
| knave | nave | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun |
| Meaning | A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier | The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances The ground-level middle cavity of a barn A hub of a wheel |
| Example | none recorded | none recorded |
| Forms | knaves | naves |
| Pronunciation | /neɪv/ | /neɪv/ |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words | 1.1 times per million words |
Sources: knave and nave in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of knave and nave
knave
- 1
datedA tricky, deceitful fellow; a dishonest person
- 2
A playing card marked with the figure of a servant or a soldier
nave
- 1
The middle or body of a church, extending from the transepts to the principal entrances
- 2
A hub of a wheel
- 3
The ground-level middle cavity of a barn
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, knave or nave?
knave appears about once in every 3 million words; nave 1.1 times per million words.
knave about once in every 3 million wordsnave 1.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).