Meaning & use
omphalos
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a central point or hub; originally, a carved stone at the ancient Greek temple of Delphi believed to mark the center of the world.
See it in a sentence
Historians describe Delphi's omphalos as the symbolic navel of the ancient Greek world.
The novelist used the old town square as the omphalos around which every character's story turned.
A note on using this word
Literally means 'navel' in Greek; outside its original mythological context, it's used in literary or academic writing to mean a symbolic center.
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