Nave highlighted in a typical cathedral plan
The crossing belongs to both nave and transept
A nave is, in Romanesque and Gothic church architecture, the central approach to the altar. The name comes from Latin navis, meaning "ship".
It is the part of church set aside for the laity, and formerly the nave used to be separated from the sanctuary by a rood screen. The area where the nave crosses the transept, known simply as the crossing, belongs to both the nave and the transept equally.
In post-Reformation church architecture, pews or chairs are placed in the nave.
The nave may be flanked by two or even four aisles, separated from it by columns.