omphalos
/ˈɒmfəlɒs/
"omphalos" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“omphalos” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ancient religious stone artifact, or baetylus, used to denote the direction of the "center" of the world.
Corpus desk
Index EN-omphalos · omphalos · English
omphalos · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "O" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | omphalos |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈɒmfəlɒs/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “omphalos” in English
Rare enough to double-check
omphalos is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈɒmfəlɒs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for omphalos, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós, “navel”). Doublet of navel. The correct English form is omphalos, spelled O-M-P-H-A-L-O-S.
Definition
- 1An ancient religious stone artifact, or baetylus, used to denote the direction of the "center" of the world.
- 2The theological proposition that the world was created with certain indicia of a history which had not actually occurred (such as the humans who had never been connected to umbilical cords being created with navels).
- 3The navel.
- 4A raised central point; a boss.
- 5The center or hub.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how omphalos appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
—Rather bleak in wintertime, I should say. Martello you call it? —Billy Pitt had them built, Buck Mulligan said, when the French were on the sea. But ours is the omphalos.
Here I was, embosomed in the very nave, the very omphalos of furtive femininity—a prize patron of the women's restaurant, a member, privy to its innermost secrets.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós, “navel”). Doublet of navel.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.