NARROW

narrow. Narrow, a. not broad, not wide, covetous, near

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Nar″row (năr″rō̍), a. [Compar. Narrower (–ẽr); superl. Narrowest.] [[OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]] 1. 1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.
Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas. Shak. 2. 2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world. Bp. Wilkins. 3. 3. Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near; — with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow majority. Dryden.
4. 4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.
5. 5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views. “A narrow understanding.” Macaulay.
6. 6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
A very narrow and stinted charity. Smalridge. 7. 7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied. Milton. 8. 8. (Phon.) 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 ē (ēve) and o͞o (fo͞od), etc., from ĭ (ĭll) and o͝o (fo͝ot), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, § 13.
☞ 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. (Railroad) See Note under Gauge, n., 6.