noun, masculine/nɔ̃.bʁil/plural: nombrils
navel, belly button; middle
Inherited from Middle French nombril, from Old French nonbril, from Vulgar Latin *umbilīculus (compare Occitan embonilh), from Latin umbilīcus. The initial n is probably due to an interference from possessive determiners: Old French mun onbril (“my navel”) → mun nonbril (i.e. a rebracketing). Compare the development of Catalan llombrígol, Romanian buric. Doublet of ombilic, a borrowing.