What is the Latin word for nave?

The usual Latin words for “nave” are modiolus, nāvis, agō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

English → Latin

“nave” in Latin

modioluscup (small drinking vessel); bucket of a water wheel; hub (of a wheel)nāvisship, boat, vessel; a fleet in the plural; nave (middle or body of a church)agōto act, to behave; to do; to make (something that does not continue to exist after the maker stops)

The English word nave itself goes back to Latin nāvis, through nāvem.

Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864

nave

Of a wheel, modiolus (Plin.).

Of a church, spatium medium (Vitr.): in the Latin of the Middle Ages, also, navis.

Quick answer

What is the Latin word for nave?: The usual Latin words for “nave” are modiolus, nāvis, agō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.

Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.