navy
/ˈneɪvi/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.57 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any fleet of maritime vessels, and especially the entire fleet of any particular nationality, including vessels that are commercial, military, or both.
Archaic; Countable
Example Sentences
- "The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy."
- "People who get seasick easily shouldn't join the navy."
- "The cover is as navy as a bruise."
- "The morning shadow on his chin was almost as navy as his heavy-lidded eyes, his cheekbones exquisitely sculptured in his haughty face."
- "[…] there are chess ships and checker ships and those where acey-deucey is almost the only game, the sailors' own improved version of backgammon. Fliers from the seacoast of Iowa, anxious to be as navy as the rest, are usually the first to pick it up."
- "Lieutenant Lindquist is navy through and through. I know she doesn't want to get out. Now, I know there's no way you can assign her to a navy ship, but there has to be something the navy can give her to keep her in space."
Etymology
From Middle English nave, navye, from Anglo-Norman, Old French navie, from Latin nāvigia < nāvigium, from Latin nāvigō, nāvis (“boat”), from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us. Compare Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Persian ناو (nâv, “boat, warship”), Sanskrit नाव (nāva, “ship”), Old English nōwend (“mariner, sailor”). By surface analysis, Latin nav- + -y. Displaced native Old English sċiphere (literally “ship army”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈneɪvi/
- British English: /ˈneɪvi/