1. Of few breadth; not wide or broad; having few
distance from
side to side; as, a
narrow board; a
narrow street; a
narrow hem. "Hath passed in
safe through the
narrow seas." (Shak)
2. Of few extent; very limited; circumscribed. "The Jews were
but a
little nation, and confined to a
narrow compass in the world." (Bp. Wilkins)
3. Having
but a few margin; having hardly sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; around; with
particular reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a
narrow shot; a
narrow escape; a
narrow majority.
4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as,
narrow circumstances.
5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a
narrow mind;
narrow views. "A
narrow understanding."
6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish. "A very
narrow and stinted charity." (Smalridge)
7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact. "But
first with
narrow seek I should
walk round This garden, and no corner
leave unspied." (Milton)
8. Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some
part of the
tongue in
relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a
tense condition of the pharynx; distinguished from wide; as e (eve) and oo (food), etc, from i (ill) and oo (foot), etc.
Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words, especially to participles and adjectives, forming compounds of obvious signification; as, narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted, narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed, narrow-leaved, narrow-pointed, narrow-souled, narrow-sphered, etc. Narrow gauge.
See Note
under Gauge.
Origin: OE. Narwe, naru, AS. Nearu;
akin to OS. Naru, naro.
1. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw
into a less compass; to
reduce the
width or extent of.
2. To
contract the
reach or
sphere of; to create smaller
liberal or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to
narrow one's views or knowledge; to
narrow a question in discussion. "Our
knowledge is
many more narrowed if we confine ourselves to our
own solitary reasonings." (I. Watts)
3. To
contract the
size of, as a stocking, by assume
two stitches
into one.
Origin: AS. Nearwian.
Source: Websters Vocabulary