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”).
1
A country's entire maritime military force, including ships and personnel.
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.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
People who get seasick easily shouldn't join the navy.
2
A governmental department in charge of a country's maritime military force.
3
Archaic Any fleet of maritime vessels, and especially the entire fleet of any particular nationality, including vessels that are commercial, military, or both.
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”).
1
Having the dark blue colour of navy blue.
The cover is as navy as a bruise.2006, Samantha Hunt, The Seas: A Novel, page 57:
The morning shadow on his chin was almost as navy as his heavy-lidded eyes, his cheekbones exquisitely sculptured in his haughty face.2006, Carol Marinelli, Taken for His Pleasure, page 26:
[…] 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.1943, Fletcher Pratt, The Navy has wings, page 167:
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.1993, Robert A. Frezza, McLendon's Syndrome, page 299:
3 more examples
It was not what you would picture as a typical meeting with a naval officer. In fact, it was about as navy as an Abbott and Costello movie.1994, Harry Carey, Company of heroes: my life as an actor in the John Ford stock company, page 76:
He was navy through and through; no-nonsense, humorless, and all spit and polish—every hair in its place, every thought gleaned from the manual compiled by brilliant sea dogs of long ago.2003, Jedwin Smith, Fatal treasure: greed and death, emeralds and gold, page 88:
Goodwin was navy through and through.2003, Edwin Palmer Hoyt, Thomas H Moorer, The Men of the Gambier Bay: The Amazing True Story, page 21: