Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1820, 1883
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NAVEL, n., v. Sc. †usages:
I. n. Of a Beltane cake: see quot. In other places the decoration seems however to have been a little knob or protuberance in the middle of the cake.Inv. 1883 Trans. Inv. Scientific Soc. II. 310:
The cake was cut up in a special manner, taught to the young people by their grandmother or other old relations. A square piece was first cut out of the centre, which was called the “navel”. It was then cut up by first drawing the knife across it diagonally in the form of a St Andrew's Cross. At the close of the feast a piece of the cake and some egg were left for the cuckoo.
II. v. In ppl.adj. navelled, of panes of glass: having bosses in the centre, like the navel.Slk. 1820 Hogg Welldean Hall (1874) 164:
There were a few panes of thick, blue, navelled glass in each of them.
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"Navel n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/navel>
