Naval, a.
Etymology: [L. navalis, fr. navis ship: cf. F. naval. See Nave of a church.]
Having to do with shipping; of or pertaining to ships or a navy; consisting of ships; as, naval forces, successes, stores, etc.
Naval brigade, a body of seamen or marines organized for military service on land. -- Naval officer. (a) An officer in the navy. (b) A high officer in some United States customhouses. -- Naval tactics, the science of managing or maneuvering vessels sailing in squadrons or fleets.
Syn. -- Nautical; marine; maritime. -- Naval, Nautical. Naval is applied to vessels, or a navy, or the things which pertain to them or in which they participate; nautical, to seamen and the art of navigation. Hence we speak of a naval, as opposed to a military, engagement; naval equipments or stores, a naval triumph, a naval officer, etc., and of nautical pursuits or instruction, nautical calculations, a nautical almanac, etc.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for naval; he lists it under nautical.
Where he writes about it:
Nautical (Gr. nautes, a sailor) denotes primarily anything connected with sailors, and hence with ships or navigation; naval (L. navis, Gr. naus, a ship) refers to the armed force of a nation on the sea, and, by extension, to similar forces on lakes and rivers; as, a naval force; a nautical almanac. — from nautical