Nave. The western, and largest, part of a church, and traditionally the part that belonged to the people. The word comes from the Latin navus, meaning a boat. Some are long and thin, as at Badingham; others square, as at Eyke and Orford. In a medieval church, the people of the parish were responsible for the upkeep of the nave, and the parish priest for the upkeep of the chancel. They used the nave for private devotions, and to contain their guild and chantry altars. Today, it is where the poeple sit for the congregational worship of the Church of England. A nave may be flanked by one or two aisles, separated from it by arcades.