> It's not immediately obvious why the central part of a church
suggests a ship
Traditionally it is because of the structure of wooden beams. The theory is
that the only way of holding up the roof across such a great width was to
use the same technique as that of holding the hull of a ship together.
Looking up at the roof was therefore the same as looking down into a ship -
hence the same word was used for both. Whether this is right or not, I do
not know, but it is clear that "nave" derives from navis "ship".
Peter