▪ I. narrow, a. and n.
(ˈnærəʊ)
Forms: 1 nearu, -o, -uo, naru(u), neruu, 2 nareu, 3–4 naru, (3 narv), 4 narw, narou; 3 neruh, 4 narouȝ, nargh, 5 narevh, narwh, narough; 4–6 narow(e, narrowe, 6 Sc. narraw, 4– narrow. Inflected. 1 nearwe, naarwe, 3 narrwe, 3–4 narwe, 4 narȝwe; 1 nearewe, -uwe, 1, 3 nearowe, 2 nærewe, 2–3 narewe, 3 nerewe, -uwe.
[OE. nearu, nearo (also neara: see nare a.) = OS. naru narrow, MDu. nare, naer (Du. naar) unpleasant, dismal, sad, distressed, etc., Fris. nâr narrow. Not found in the other Teutonic languages, and of doubtful etymology.]
A. adj.
1. a. Having little breadth or width in comparison with the length; wanting in breadth; constricted.
| Beowulf 1409 Ofereode þa æþelinga bearn..stiᵹe nearwe, enge anpaðas. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §32 Se sæ þe æᵹðer is ᵹe nearo ᵹe hreoh. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 5 Mið ðy ᵹecwomun ðeᵹnas his ofer luh vel nearo sæ. 1154 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137 Sume hi diden..in an cæste þat was scort & nareu & undep. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 199 [The adder] cumeð to ane þurlede ston, and criepeð nedlinge þureh nerewe hole. a 1225 Ancr. R. 430 He..went þe neruwe ende of þe horne to his owune muðe, & utward þene wide. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 212/424 Þis brugge..was so narovȝ þat onneþe ani-þing miȝte þare-oppe sette ani fot. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 819 Þe lefte eghe..semes les, And narower þan þe right eghe es. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 98 Ther was no grace in the visage, Hir front was nargh, hir lockes hore. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 45 Egypt is a long Contree; but it is streyt, that is to seye narow. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 23 A long narevh table. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 145 Her sekynge in y⊇ narowe lanes betokeneth [etc.]. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 88 Oh here's a wit..that stretches from an ynch narrow, to an ell broad. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 22 Italy..growing narrower, and narrower, till it shut out it selfe in two hornes. 1696 Bp. Patrick Comm. Exod. xxxix. (1697) 710 Then they cut off lesser, and narrower Wires. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 91 Make the lower Arch..narrower than usual. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 70 The streets are for the most part narrow and winding. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 292 The narrower the base..the more easily may the body be overthrown. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. ix. (1878) 140 Up a straight, steep, narrow stair. |
b. In
fig. contexts,
esp. narrow way, etc. (in ref. to
Matt. vii. 14).
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Contents 17/14 Ðerh brad woeᵹ moniᵹe, ðerh neruu vel unrum hwon..inngae ᵹetrymes. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 14 Gangað inn þurh þæt nearwe ᵹeat. c 1200 Ormin 6208 Þa follȝhe ȝitt tatt narrwe stih Þatt ledeþþ ȝunnc till heoffne. 12.. Moral Ode 339 (Egerton MS.), Laete we þe brode strete..Go we þene narewe wei. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxviii. 35 Þis strete is þe narw way till heuen. 1382 Wyclif Matt. vii. 14 How streit is the ȝate, and narowe the weye, that ledith to lijf. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 18 In the strayte and narowe poynt of deth they descende to hell. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (1895) 10 An other is so narrow in [1556 betwene] the sholders, that he can beare no iestes nor tawntes. 1597 J. King On Jonas (1618) 142 There is but a narrow path betwixt fire and water, as Esdras speaketh. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 154 Honour trauels in a straight so narrow, Where one but goes a breast. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. i. §1 Tread softly and circumspectly in this..narrow Path of Goodness. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 152 When Reason doubtful..Points him two ways, the narrower is the better. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 118 Himself a wanderer from the narrow way. |
c. In special applications, as
narrow axe U.S., an axe used primarily for chopping,
opp. broad-axe;
narrowback U.S, a citizen of the United States of Irish ancestry (see also
quot. 1941);
narrow band Electr., a band (
band n.2 14) of frequencies lying within a narrow range;
freq. attrib. (with hyphen);
narrow boat, a canal boat,
spec. one not exceeding 7 feet in width or 72 feet in length;
narrow cloth, cloth under 52 inches wide;
narrow-cut adj., applied to filters which transmit only a narrow band of wavelengths;
narrow front (see
quot. 1802);
narrow goods, braid, ribbons, and similar woven articles;
† narrow land, one of the narrow strips into which open fields were divided;
narrow money (
Econ.), a measure of the amount of money available in an economic system, according to a narrow definition of money (
e.g. M
0 or M
1: see
M III. 9):
contr. with
broad money s.v. broad a. D. 2;
narrow-range attrib., restricted in incidence or scope;
narrow trade, the trade in narrow goods;
narrow wares, narrow goods;
narrow weaver, a weaver of narrow cloth or goods;
narrow work (see
quot. 1851). See also
narrow gauge, seas.
| 1641 Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1850) I. 444 A broad axe, 2 *narrow axes, wimbell & chessells. 1854 Thoreau Walden 46, I went on for some days cutting and hewing timber..with my narrow axe. |
| 1941 J. Smiley Hash House Lingo 39 *Narrow back, dishwasher; cashier. 1957 N.Y. Times 29 Sept. X3 William Joseph Patrick (Pat) O'Brien, a Milwaukee-born Irishman or narrowback. 1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 39 Irish informants use..narrowback for a second generation Irishman who has neither the need, the desire nor the physical equipment to do the work his father had to do. 1975 G. V. Higgins City on Hill ii. 56 You went out and married the same kind of commoner he always was himself, and a narrowback to boot. |
| 1956 Nature 28 Jan. 178/2 A *narrow-band tuned amplifier on 16 kc./s. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 261 Music line, broad-band circuit for carrying programme (including speech), as distinct from a telephone line which may occupy only a narrow band. 1971 M. S. Ghausi Electronic Circuits vii. 437 When extremely high Q and excellent stability are required in narrow-band bandpass filters, the use of crystal filters is practical. |
| 1951 Oxf. Jun. Encycl. IV. 37/2 The *narrow boat, or ‘monkey boat’.., is possibly the commonest craft on inland waterways in England...because the locks on the group of canals in the Midland counties..can only pass a boat about 7 feet wide and 70 feet long. 1972 Country Life 13 Jan. 93/1 Only the deep draught of narrow boats can keep the canals open in the absence of proper dredging. 1975 Times 8 Mar. 10/6 Some of the older narrow boats with a three-foot draught are constantly ploughing through mud, for the canals are silted up. |
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §183 The Wealthy Manufacture there of Kerseys, and *narrow Cloaths. 1727 De Foe Eng. Tradesman xxvi. (1841) I. 258 The narrow⁓cloths, in Yorkshire and Staffordshire. |
| 1964 L. A. Mannheim tr. Clauss & Meusel's Filter Pract. 63 (caption) Absorption curve of a deep red filter (*narrow-cut type). 1969 Focal Encycl. Photogr. (rev. ed.) 615/1 Special narrow-cut tricolour filter sets are used to make indirect colour separation negatives from colour transparencies. |
| 1802 James Milit. Dict., Narrow Front, a battalion, &c. is said to assume a *narrow front, when it goes from line into column. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. s.v. Column, The formation of troops..in deep files and narrow front. |
| 1888 Daily News 29 Oct. 2/7 There is a slight revival in cords, braids, and *narrow goods. |
| 1640 Conveyance of land, Lincolnsh. (MS.), Et vnam selionem terre (anglice one *Narrow⁓land) in Scunthorpe. |
| [1979 Jrnl. Money, Credit & Banking XI. 99 Poole and Lieberman..suggest that if the central bank attempts to control the level of narrowly defined money, which includes bank demand deposits and currency M1, the optimal reserve requirement ratio against time deposits should be zero.] 1981 *Narrow money [see broad money s.v. broad a. D. 2]. 1983 Times 9 Nov. 17/4 The other target money measures are all well above the permitted range, with the narrow money aggregate, M1, up 1·5 per cent last month. 1984 Times 10 May 19/2 The London Business School has rallied to the cause of the Government's much-maligned narrow money target: M0{ddd}The new measure, which consists mainly of notes and coins in circulation as well as cash held by banks and banks' operational balances with the Bank of England, was introduced in the Budget to replace M1 which had become distorted by developments in the banking sector. 1986 Times 19 Mar. 26/3 Changes in interest rates have a..direct effect on narrow money. |
| 1932 Faucett & Maki Study of Eng. Word-Values 7 It is fair to require of all students of English a mastery of wide-range words but..it is unfair standardizing of procedure to pass or fail students on their knowledge or lack of knowledge of *narrow-range words. 1964 E. Uldall in D. Abercrombie et al. Daniel Jones 279 The narrow-range ‘smooth’ contours..vary most often from one sentence to another. |
| 1826 Hist. Eur. in Ann. Reg. 59/1 The *narrow-trade or that which consisted in the manufacture of ribbands. |
| c 1645 in Archaeologia LII. 135 A hosyer & whole saleman for *narrow wares. |
| 1767 Ann. Reg. 152/1 The engine weavers were supposed to be ruinous to the *narrow weavers. |
| 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 37 *Narrow Work, excavations, 3 yards in width and under. 1875 J. H. Collins Metal Mining 52 In deeper workings it is desirable..to lessen the proportions of ‘narrow work’, as the headings are called. |
d. Of vowels, in contrast to
broad or
wide.
| 1844 Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 283 The Greek substituted a long and broad vowel for the short and narrow vowel of the nominative. 1890 Sweet Prim. Spoken Engl. 4 Each of the vowels..is either narrow or wide, according as the tongue and uvula are tense..or relaxed. |
e. Denoting a type of phonetic transcription in which separate symbols are used to denote all identifiable features (phonemic and non-phonemic) of an utterance;
opp. broad.
| 1877 [see broad a. 5 c]. 1908 H. Sweet Sounds of English 10 In comparing the sounds of a variety of languages..we require a ‘narrow’, that is, a minutely accurate notation covering the whole field of possible sounds. 1933 Amer. Speech VIII. ii. 49/2, I have never been able to understand how there might be any advantage whatever of broad over narrow transcription for English. 1961 Y. Olsson On Syntax Eng. Verb ii. 20 The editing [when linguists transcribe] would not imply a greater crime than a phonetician using a broad, instead of a narrow, notation. 1964 D. Abercrombie Eng. Phonetic Texts 35 It is..convenient to use ‘broad’ as an equivalent of simple phonemic, and ‘narrow’ for any departure from this, either in the direction of comparative or in the direction of allophonic, or both together. |
2. a. Of no great extent; small, limited in size; confined.
narrow house, the grave.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xix, He hine ne mæᵹ furðum tobrædan Ofer þa nearwan eorðan ane [= Metr. x. 16 Ofer ðas nearowan..eorðan sceatas]. c 1200 Ormin 3687 Þatt illke child, tatt tær wass leȝȝd Inn an full naru cribbe. c 1230 Hali Meid. 42 Hwel he bið et hame, alle þine wide wanes þuncheð þe to nearewe. 1535 Coverdale 2 Kings vi. 1 The place where we dwell..is to narow for vs. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 102 b, Certain Welshemen were lodged at a poore village named Cause, because in Caleys was verye narow lodgyng. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 204 The place being so narrow as shee could onely stand. 1663 Boyle Usef. Exp. Nat. Philos. i. ii. 40 Consider how..delicate a Workmanship must be employ'd to contrive into so narrow a compass the several Parts. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 124 With mighty Souls in narrow Bodies prest. 1752 Hume Pol. Disc. x. 197 What an astonishing multitude in so narrow a country as antient Greece. 1810 J. Porter Scot. Chiefs xi, Wallace's camp or the narrow house must be our prize. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 177 His careful hand,—The space was narrow,—having order'd all. |
b. Lying or pressing close; confining.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 103 [Hie] wilnodan þæt he hie of þæm nearwan þeostrum alesde. c 1000 Riddles liii. 3 Þa wæron ᵹenumne nearwum bendum, ᵹefeterade fæste togædre. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4299 Þe brutons gonne to fle, Ac þo hii come among narwe hegges hii stode aȝen anon. 1633 May Hen. II, vi. 508 He drawes his martiall forces vp, to presse With narrow siege the Towne of Limoges. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) II. xiv. 276 Our knowledge of God is confined in narrow bounds. 1793 Cowper On Bill Mortality iii, Life, within a narrow ring Of giddy joys comprised. 1821–2 Shelley Chas. I, iv. 45 A low dark roof, a damp and narrow wall. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xvii. 72 The immediate and permanent authority of both was confined within very narrow bounds. |
3. a. Limited in range or scope; restricted.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 It is so narowe a point to know, that it is harde to make a man to vnderstande it by wrytynge. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §2 The question is yet driuen to a narrower issue. 1625 Bacon Ess., Viciss. Things (Arb.) 569 As for the great Burnings by Lightnings, which are often in the West Indies, they are but narrow. 1690 Locke Hum. Und. iv. xi. §10 How foolish..a thing it is for a Man of a narrow Knowledge..to expect Demonstration..in things not capable of it. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 61 One science only will one genius fit; So vast is art, so narrow human wit. 1771 Junius Lett. I. (1788) 271 His plan, I think, is too narrow. a 1806 H. K. White Poems (1837) 36 Can the voice of narrow Fame repay The loss of health? 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xiii. 234 The earldom of Northumberland in the narrower sense of the name was vacant. |
b. Limited in amount; very small or poor.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. iv. 8 Most narrow measure [he] lent me. 1668 R. Steele Husbandm. Calling ix. (1672) 239 Let me rather have a narrow estate and wide soul. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 108 ¶7 We find several Citizens that were launched into the World with narrow Fortunes. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) II. ii. 112 His circumstances were very narrow. 1814 Jane Austen Lady Susan iii. (1879) 208 In narrow circumstances it was proper to render her pecuniary assistance. 1819 Shelley Cenci ii. ii. 12 He has wide wants, and narrow powers. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 677 The court overruled the objection, but only by the narrowest majority. |
c. Of time: Short, brief.
rare.
| 1611 Coryat Crudities (1776) I. 144 Had I not beene brought into such a narrow compasse of time. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. vi. 117 From this narrow time of gestation [may] ensue a..smalnesse in the exclusion. 1819 Shelley Cenci v. iv. 100 Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour Tottering beneath us. |
† d. (See
quot.)
Obs. rare—0.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., 'Tis all narrow, said by the Butchers one to another when their Meat proves not so good as expected. |
e. Econ. (See
quots.)
| 1935 Economist 12 Oct. 712/2 Technically, markets remain ‘narrow’, and day-to-day price movements are correspondingly exaggerated. 1940 G. Crowther Outl. Money vii. 267 The market is at all times ‘narrow’, that is, quotations are available only for half a dozen of the most important currencies. 1962 S. Strand Marketing Dict. 474 Narrow market, in the stock market, a dull trading session, generally limited to a few fields. 1965 J. L. Hanson Dict. Econ. 288/2 Narrow market, a term used more particularly of stock exchange securities of which there is only a small supply available in the market. |
4. a. Sparing, close, parsimonious, mean. Now
dial.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 430 Beoð large touward ham, þauh ȝe þe neruwure beon and te herdure to ou suluen. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1613) 156 To narrow breasts he comes all wrapt in gaine. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ix. 261 Nouther..ouer skairs, narraw, or gredie. 1659 A. Hay Diary (S.H.S.) 220 It was not expedient to me to buy from them becaus they are somquhat narrow. 1773 Johnson in Boswell, Archibald..was narrow in his ordinary expenses. 1796 Hist. Ned Evans I. 146 He was..so extremely narrow as to allow himself little more than the bare necessaries of life. 1821 Galt Ann. Parish iii, He was a narrow ailing man. 1897 J. Gordon Vill. & Doctor 72 It ain't as I was a narrer man.., I bain't mean. |
b. Lacking in breadth of view or sympathy; narrow-souled, narrow-minded, illiberal, prejudiced, bigoted.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. Pref. 6 They are but narrow Souls, and not worthy the name of Philosophers. 1724 A. Collins Gr. Chr. Relig. 9 Some Jews being so narrow as to think Circumcision..necessary. 1760 Foote Minor i. Wks. 1799 I. 231 People who have their attention eternally fixed upon one object, can't help being a little narrow in their notions. 1825 Macaulay Ess., Milton (1851) I. 22 The days of cold hearts and narrow minds. 1874 Blackie Self-Cult. 30 The merely professional man is always a narrow man. |
c. So of actions, views, disposition, etc.
| 1657 in Burton's Diary (1828) II. 248 It is very narrow not to let it extend to the protestants elsewhere, as those in Munster. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 61 We have not those narrow conceptions of these subtle Spirits. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 126 ¶9, I daily find more Instances of this narrow Party-Humour. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxx. III. 177 The events..have undoubtedly been diminished by the narrow and imperfect view of the historians of the times. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab v. 163 Blunting the keenness of his spiritual sense With narrow schemings and unworthy cares. 1874 Green Short Hist. viii. §1. 452 There was nothing narrow or illiberal in his early training. |
d. Exclusive.
| 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 143 In no danger of falling under the dominion either of a despot or of a narrow oligarchy. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 208 An oligarchy not less proud and even more narrow than their brethren of Bern and Venice. |
5. a. Strict, close, precise, careful.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 144 Þe sterke dom of domesdei—& so neruh mid alle. Ibid. 156 Hwo se wule ivinden et te neruwe domesmon merci & ore. 1552 in Liturg. Serv. Q. Eliz. (1847) 246 If thou shouldest enter into thy narrow judgment with me,..I were never able to suffer it. 1579 Fulke Confut. Sanders 692 You are..a narrowe vewer of such idle pictures. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. i. 4 Millions..are now dayly troubled with your so narrow looking thereinto. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 515 Thenceforth I thought thee worth my nearer view And narrower Scrutiny. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 162 ¶2, I have made a narrow Search into the Nature of the old Roman Censors. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. xxx, Seeking to make a narrower inquiry. |
b. transf. of the eyes, etc. (Partly in sense 1.)
| 1577 Harrison England ii. vi. (1877) i. 160 They sit still, pinking with their narrow eies. 1592 R. D. Hypnerotomachia 55 b, An extreame delight and desired nourishment unto a narrowe looke and greedie eye. 1611 Beaum. & Fl. Philaster iii. i, I..plac'd thee there To pry with narrow eyes into her deeds. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xxix, Looking into her eyes with his narrow gaze. |
6. Near, close.
† a. Coming near the truth.
Obs.| 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580) 37 Thei haue a narrowe gesse by all likelihoode, that the Hare was there a little before. 1679 Evelyn Sylva (ed. 3) 4 What some upon an accurate and narrow guess have not feared to pronounce. |
† b. Of friendship: Close, intimate.
Obs. rare.
| 1556 Aurelio & Isab. (1608) A iv, Remembring them bothe of their narrowe frendshippe. 1574 Hellowes Guevara's Fam. Ep. (1584) 158 The Judge cannot holde narrow friendship with any man. |
c. Of an escape: Barely effected.
| 1581 Rich Farew. E j b, She ioyed nothyng so muche in the narrowe escape she had made with life. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. ix. heading, The lucky and narrow escape of Partridge. 1814 Scott Wav. xxx, He had made a narrow escape, however; the bullet had grazed his head. 1860 Sala Baddington Peerage xx, What's a narrow squeak, a close shave, to such as I am? 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. viii. 223 The escape was a narrow one. |
d. Bowls. (See
quot.)
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Narrow, when the Biass of the Bowl holds too much. 1882 [see narrow adv. 3]. |
7. Comb., as
narrow-backed,
narrow-beamed,
narrow-billed,
narrow-bladed,
narrow-bodied,
narrow-bottomed,
narrow-brained,
narrow-brimmed,
narrow-cast,
narrow-celled,
narrow-chested,
† narrow-clothed,
narrow-compassed,
narrow-ended,
narrow-grated,
narrow-gutted,
narrow-heeled,
narrow-holed,
narrow-laced,
narrow-limited,
narrow-listed,
narrow-meshed,
narrow-muzzled,
narrow-nosed,
narrow-quartered,
narrow-shared,
narrow-shouldered,
narrow-sighted,
narrow-slitted,
narrow-slotted,
narrow-snouted,
narrow-sterned,
narrow-streeted,
narrow-throated,
narrow-toned,
narrow-topped,
narrow-verged,
narrow-visioned,
narrow-waisted,
narrow-wheeled. Also
narrow-eyed, -hearted, -minded, -necked, -souled, etc.
| 1847 Youatt Pig 58 *Narrow-backed, flat-sided..animals. |
| 1927 Observer 14 Aug. 7/4 Agile, *narrow-beamed cars, with plenty of acceleration and ‘safety-first’ brake-power, are his ideal. |
| 1895 Funk's Stand. Dict., *Narrow-billed. 1909 A. E. Mack Bush Calendar 9 Birds breeding in August... Chalcococcyx basalis. Narrow-billed bronze cuckoo. 1953 D. A. Bannerman Birds Brit. Isles I. 299 There is much to be said in favour of retaining these broad-billed buntings, as distinct from the narrow-billed species, under the specific name tschusii. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 465 Modelling it..with a sharp *narrow-bladed knife. |
| 1949 M. Mead Male & Female vi. 133 The slender, *narrow-bodied of the Arapesh, Tchambuli, Swede, Eskimo, and Hottentot. 1963 Times 1 Feb. 14/5 This narrow-bodied look was extended to coats. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 4 In a *narrow-bottom'd Ditch, if Cattle get into it, they cannot stand to turn themselves. 1777 Watson in Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 876 Put it into a narrow-bottomed ale glass. |
| 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Consid. Wks. (Bohn) II. 414 No shovel-handed, *narrow-brained..stockingers. |
| 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2145/4 A little *narrow-brim'd black Hat. |
| 1778 W. H. Marshall Minutes Agric. 26 Mar. 1776, In these flutes sowed the seed *narrow-cast. |
| 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 376 The periphery of the cylinder is occupied by a meristematic *narrow-celled ring. |
| 1873 Routledge's Yng. Gentlm. Mag. 178/1 [He] made everybody else in the field look *narrow-chested. |
| c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 540 If a wight vertuous, but *narwe clothid, To lordes curtes now of dayes go. |
| 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. App. ciii, Within his *narrow-compast brains. |
| 1877 Huxley & Martin Elem. Biol. 195 *Narrow-ended and broad-ended papillæ. |
| 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest (1820) III. 280 Its heavy black walls, and *narrow-grated windows. |
| 1903 Dialect Notes II. 299 (Cape Cod dial.) *Narrow gutted, mean, ungenerous. 1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 228/2 Narrow-gutted, of horses..weak in the loins. Ibid., Not[tinghamshire]. A narrow-gutted brute. 1924 D. H. Lawrence Let. 29 Oct. (1962) II. 816 A narrow-gutted ‘artist’ with a stutter. 1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xviii. 283/2 Unless the seam is narrow-gutted as at Kawakawa,..it seems certain that coal does not exist above the greywacke. |
| 1615 Markham Country Contentm. i. xix. 82 That Cock is said to be sharp heel'd or *narrow heel'd, which every time he riseth hitteth, and draweth blood of his adversary. |
| 1531 Elyot Gov. ii. xiv, In a *narowe holed seeue they will stille abide with the good corne. |
| 1882 Masson in Macm. Mag. XLV. 251 Jeffrey's more *narrow⁓laced clientage of the blue-and-yellow. |
| 1690 Child Disc. Trade Pref. (1698) 21 These trades..the Dutch interest of three per cent. and *narrow-limited companies in England, have beat us out of. |
| 1603 Burford Reg. (Hist. MSS. Comm.), Various Collect. I. 72 Confecit..duos pannos laneos vocatos *narowe listed whites. |
| 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 325 Bands of tissue, appearing irregularly *narrow-meshed in cross-section. |
| 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 204 Lean-jawed, *narrow-muzzled animals. |
| 1846 F. Brittan tr. Malgaigne's Man. Oper. Surg. 269 A little osseous projection..in *narrow-nosed people. 1884 J. Tait Mind in Matter (1892) 61 Discussions about narrow-nosed apes. |
| a 1618 Raleigh Royal Navy 13 So will all *narrow quartered ships sinck after the Tayle. |
| 1765 Univ. Mag. XXXVII. 33/2 He plowed them up with a *narrow-shared wheel-plow. |
| 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II, ccxcvii, Soe may the *Narrow-should'red Pigmey heave Mount Caucasus. |
| 1708 Bp. Berkeley Serm. Wks. 1871 IV. 601 We *narrow-sighted mortals. |
| 1905 J. London Jacket (1915) xi. 90 His eyes..were cunning and..*narrow-slitted. |
| 1923 Kipling Irish Guards in Gt. War I. 234 The *narrow-slotted pill-boxes. |
| 1897 Günther in Mary Kingsley W. Africa 708 Both the *narrow-snouted form..and the broad-snouted. |
| 1755 Johnson, Pink,..a kind of heavy *narrow-sterned ship. |
| 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. (1872) I. 41 A commercial city.., *narrow-streeted and sometimes pestilential. |
| 1674 Hickman Quinquart. Hist. (ed. 2) 48, I see not what there is in these passages, which the most strait, *narrow-throated Calvinist may not swallow. |
| 1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. Pref. 14 That powerful, but at present somewhat *narrow-toned organ, the modern Englishman. |
| 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 355 When they are cold put them into *narrow-topped jars. |
| a 1678 Marvell Garden i, Some single herb or tree, Whose short and *narrow-verged shade Does prudently their toils upbraid. |
| 1868 Croom Robertson in Fortn. Rev. Dec. 635 We are taunted with being a *narrow-visioned people. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. v. 237/2 The Gowns were broad-Shouldered, narrow-Wasted. 1881 Daily Tel. 5 July 2/1 A great narrow-waisted yawl, almost on her beam ends. |
| 1758 Anr. Reg. i. 112/2 A *narrow wheeled waggon. |
B. n. 1. A narrow part, place, or thing; the narrow part of something. Also
fig. Now
rare.
| 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 3493 Into þe narwe hij come, hem to lett. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdras vii. 5 Yf he wente not thorow the narow, how might he come in to the brode? 1642 Rogers Naaman 37 We cannot speed, because we still keep a breadth in his narrow, and in our afflictions are light-hearted. 1702 C. Mather Magn. Chr. iii. i. App. (1852) 339 When it came to the narrow of any question he would still profess himself conquered by Mr. Hooker's reason. 1742 Richardson De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. II. 270 We might also mention another Narrow; that is, the Minds of the Generality of its People. |
2. spec. (Chiefly in
pl.)
a. A narrow part of a sound, strait, or river.
| 1633 T. James Voy. 106 We were in the narrow of the Straight. 1665 Lond. Gaz. No. 5/4 Three or four Privateers are crusing in the Narrow. 1702 Ibid. No. 3844/4 In the Narrow off of Winterton. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 145 At Four this Morning weighed, and steered E.N.E. for the Narrows. 1840 Marryat Poor Jack li, We should have been taken possession of by a privateer in the very narrows. 1883 Stevenson Silverado Sq. 4 Through the narrows the tide bubbles, muddy like a river. |
b. A narrow part of a pass or valley; a narrow way between mountains. (Chiefly
U.S.)
| 1716 B. Church Hist. Philip's War (1865) I. 23 They Marched until they came to the narrow of the Neck. 1768 C. Beatty Jrnl. 16 We travelled up Juniata river,..through a bad road, to a place called the Narrows. 1788 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) I. 403 We passed the narrows or gaps of two ranges of high mountains. 1808 Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) 175 A fine creek, which we followed through narrows in the mountains for about six miles. |
c. A narrow part of a street.
| 1772 C. Hutton Bridges 2 Streets..without narrows or crooked windings. 1866 Conington æneid 49 Some block the narrows of the street. 1882 Daily News 18 Aug. 3/1 Lives there the elderly man..who has not been sorely frightened by the risks encountered in those terrible narrows? |
d. Mining. A narrow gallery.
| 1850 Ansted Elem. Geol. §1106 These galleries are of different dimensions, the larger ones..are called broads, and they are intersected by other galleries at right-angles to them whose dimensions are not quite so large, and which are called narrows. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 173. |
▪ II. ˈnarrow, adv. Now
rare.
Forms: 1
nearwe, 3
neruwe, 3–4
nar(e)we, 4–5
narow, (5
-oo), 6–8
narrow.
[OE. nearwe, f. nearu narrow a.] † 1. Closely, straitly, strictly.
Obs.| Beowulf 976 Hyne sar hafað in nydgripe nearwe befongen. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xxi. 5 Se ðe..sie nearwe ᵹehefted mid þisses mæran middanᵹeardes..lufe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 268 Ȝif þu wult þet heo drede þe, hold hire neruwe. a 1250 Owl & Night. 68 Alle ho the driveth honne,..And wel narewe the bi-ledet. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 16 Þe kyng was narow holden, his folk alle to dryuen. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 600 Cleopatra, Loue hadde..hym so narwe boundyn In his las. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xiii. 436 Thay will nyp vs fulle naroo. [1667 Milton P.L. vii. 21 Narrower bound Within the visible Diurnal Spheare.] |
† 2. Closely, carefully, keenly.
Obs.| a 900 Cynewulf Elene 1158 Þeodcwen ongan..secan nearwe ᵹeneahhe, to hwan hio þa næᵹlas..ᵹedon meahte. c 1290 Beket 1745 in S.E. Leg. I. 156 Wel narewe þe king him gan bi-þenche to derne is luþere þouȝt. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 5954 He biþoȝte him wel narwe ȝif þer miȝte be eny red. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 744 How excellent franchise In women is whan they hem narwe avise. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 15264 Many a way that lady soght And wel narwe sche hir be-thoght. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. xxii, To Hector he marked hath so narowe That he smote him euen amid the face. c 1592 Greene Wks. (Rtldg.) 317/1 Looking more narrow by the fire's flame, I spied his quiver. |
| Comb. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 148 Wee'll ouer⁓reach..The narrow prying father. |
3. Narrowly, in various senses; in a narrow or close manner.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 213 Þe sullere doð narewere þane he sholde, and te biggere rumluker þan he sholde. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 371 Ȝif I ȝede to the plow I pynched so narwe, That a fote-londe or a forwe fecchen I wolde. 1697 Dryden æneid v. 675 Mnestheus..miss'd the Dove. Yet miss'd so narrow, that he cut the Cord. 1765 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 274 If this kind of grass-ground is plowed..shallow and narrow. 1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower xxvii, ‘I am not skilful’, she said, ‘I always bowl narrow’. |
b. to fall narrow, to fall short.
to go narrow, to keep the legs too close together. ?
Obs.| 1648 Crashaw Delights of Muses Wks. (1904) 129 [He] ne're suffred yet his little arrow, Of Heavens high'st archies to fall narrow. 1697 Lond. Gaz. No. 3289/4 Lost..a Bayish dun Horse about 15 hands,..goes narrow. 1727 Bailey, vol. II. s.v., A Horse is said to go narrow, when he does not take Ground enough, that does not bear far enough out, to the one Hand or to the other. |
▪ III. narrow, v. (
ˈnærəʊ)
Forms: 1
nearwian, 4
narwe,
narewe,
nerewe, 5, 7–
narrow.
[OE. nearwian, f. nearw-, nearu narrow a.; but in later use prob. a new formation directly from the adj. OE. had also nyrwan (= *nięrwan) and ᵹenyrwan to compress, constrain, afflict, etc.] 1. intr. To become narrower, to decrease in width or breadth; to diminish, lessen, contract. Also with
down.
| a 1000 Gen. 1570 Sefa nearwode. a 1000 Riming Poem 37 Sinc searwade, sib nearwade. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4577 Brod & þykke þe gynnynge was, & euere hit nareweþ [v.r. nereweþ] rysande on heyght. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 57 Þenne he narweþ to þe narwenesse of sex hondred paas. 1746 in Acc. Fr. Settlem. N. Amer. 20 Above that isle it narrows so, that before Quebec it is not above a mile wide. 1773 A. Grant Lett. fr. Mountains (1813) I. xiii. 113 The glen..instead of narrowing,..grows broader as it retires. 1821 Byron Two Foscari iii. i. 410 The time narrows, signor. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iii. 180 Following up The river as it narrow'd to the hills. 1897 H. Drummond Ideal Life 101 Have you ever noticed, how Christ's life narrowed? 1906 L. J. Vance Terence O'Rourke ii. ii. 214 Then it narrowed down to a mere contest of endurance. |
2. a. trans. To make narrower; to reduce the breadth of (a thing);
† also
fig. to constrict, constrain, oppress. Also with
down and
in.
| a 1000 Riddles xxvi. 10 Feleþ sona mines ᵹemotes, seo þe mec nearwað, wif wundenlocc. a 1300 E.E. Psalter xxxiv. 5 Þai be als dust ogain wind..And louerdes aungel narwand þam. 1429 Coventry Leet Bk. (E.E.T.S.) 118 The meyre shuld go be all the brooke, & se where hit is narowed..or stopped. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 64 At the straits of Magellan, where the land is narrowed. 1768 Conn. Col. Rec. (1885) XIII. 52 By encroachments said road is so narrowed that it is rendered almost useless. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 75 A northeast wind narrows the stream. 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 321 Abdomen nearly square, posteriorly narrowed. 1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. (1887) 84 She narrowed her lids slightly. 1885 J. Morris Kotaka xi. 106 The entire force and volume of the Fuzikawa being here narrowed down to the width of the gorge. 1885 J. W. Dawson Egypt & Syria ii. 39 It is just where the broad expanse of alluvium..is narrowed in by that great promontory. 1889 R. L. Stevenson Master of Ballantrae iv. 122 The family was now so narrowed down (indeed, there were..just the father and the two sons) that it was possible to break the entail. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 835 The sweat-pores were obviously narrowed by pressure. |
b. To limit or restrict; to make less or smaller; to contract; to reduce.
| 1674 Govt. Tongue 168 We see in all things how desuetude do's contract and narrow our faculties. 1706 Stanhope Paraphr. III. 428 Subtle Glosses had narrowed the just extent of this Word. 1769 Burke Obs. Late St. Nation Wks. II. 115 He has here pretty well narrowed the field of taxation. 1817 W. Selwyn Law Nisi Prius (ed. 4) II. 1083 A by-law,..if it narrow the number of those out of whom the election is to be made, is void. 1859 J. Martineau Ess. (1866) I. 91 It greatly narrows the ground of difference. 1893 Sir R. Ball Story of Sun 282 This consideration narrows the search for the body. |
c. To drive or press closer.
| 1814 Scott Wav. lxv, Eager to distress and narrow the posts of the enemy. 1864 Tennyson Boadicea 39 Tho' the gathering enemy narrow thee. |
▪ IV. narrow dial. f. ne'er a adj. phr.