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单词 narrow
释义

narrowadj.n.

Brit. /ˈnarəʊ/, U.S. /ˈnɛroʊ/
Forms: Old English naarw- (Anglian, inflected form), Old English naru (Anglian), Old English naruu (Anglian), Old English nearew- (inflected form, rare), Old English nearo, Old English nearow- (inflected form, rare), Old English nearuo (Anglian), Old English nearuw- (inflected form, rare), Old English nearw- (inflected form), Old English neruu (Anglian), Old English–early Middle English nearu, early Middle English nærewe, early Middle English narrwe ( Ormulum), early Middle English nearewe, early Middle English nearow, early Middle English nearowe, early Middle English nerewe, early Middle English neruh, early Middle English neruwe, Middle English nareu, Middle English narevh, Middle English narewe, Middle English narewȝe, Middle English narȝ, Middle English nargh, Middle English narȝwe, Middle English narou, Middle English narouȝ, Middle English narouȝe, Middle English narough, Middle English narouh, Middle English narovȝ, Middle English narowȝe, Middle English naru, Middle English narv, Middle English narw, Middle English narwe, Middle English narwȝ, Middle English narwh, Middle English–1600s narow, Middle English–1600s narowe, Middle English–1600s narrowe, 1500s narroy, 1500s– narrow, 1800s narro, 1800s– narra (English regional), 1800s– narrer (English regional); U.S. regional 1800s– narrer, 1900s– na'ar, 1900s– nar, 1900s– narr, 1900s– narr', 1900s– narrey, 1900s– narry, 1900s– norrer, 1900s– norry; Scottish pre-1700 narew, pre-1700 naro, pre-1700 narou, pre-1700 narow, pre-1700 narowe, pre-1700 narraw, pre-1700 narro, pre-1700 narrowe, pre-1700 nawreye, pre-1700 nerou, pre-1700 1700s narrou, pre-1700 1700s– narrow, pre-1700 1800s– nerrow, 1800s nairey, 1800s nerra, 1900s– naira, 1900s– nairaw, 1900s– nairra, 1900s– nairrey, 1900s– nairrih, 1900s– nairroo, 1900s– nairrow, 1900s– nairy, 1900s– narra, 1900s– narry, 1900s– nerrie; also Irish English (northern) 1900s– nairrow, 1900s– narra; Irish English (southern) 1800s– narrowe. See also nare adj.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with West Frisian near narrow, Middle Dutch nar , nare , naer narrow, dreary, dismal (Dutch naar disagreeable, unpleasant, sad, dismal), Old Saxon naro , naru narrow, depressing; further etymology uncertain. Compare nare adj.A noun from the same adjectival base may be represented by Middle Low German nare, narwe, Middle High German nar, nare, narwe, and German Narbe, all in sense ‘scar’.
A. adj.
1.
a. Small in breadth or width in proportion to length; lacking breadth; constricted.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [adjective]
nareeOE
narrowOE
smallOE
straitc1400
near1493
unthick1587
pinching1607
widthless1813
shoestring1878
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xvi. 5 Cum uenissent discipuli eius trans fretum : mið ðy gecwomun ðegnas his ofer luh uel nearo sæ.
OE Beowulf 1409 Ofereode þa æþelinga bearn..stige nearwe, enge anpaðas.
OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 21 Se sæ þe ægþer is ge nearo ge hreoh.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Sume hi diden in crucethus ðæt is in an cæste þat was scort & nareu, & undep.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 199 (MED) Oðer kinnes neddre..cumeð to ane þurlede ston and criepeð nedlinge þureh nerewe hole and bileueð hire hude baften hire.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 195 Þe wel bloweð went þene neruwure ende of þe horne [c1230 Corpus Cambr. te nearewe of þe horn] to his owune muðe & utward þene wide.
c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) 424 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 212 Þis brugge..was so narovȝ [a1325 Corpus Cambr. narȝ] þat onneþe ani-þing miȝte þare-oppe sette ani fot þat he ne fulle a-doun.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1685 (MED) Hir front was nargh, hir lockes hore.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 45 Egypt is a long Contree; but it is streyt [?a1425 Egerton narowe; Fr. estreit], þat is to seye narow.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 23 (MED) A long narevh table.
1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 145 Her sekynge in ye narowe lanes betokeneth [etc.].
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 78 Oh heere is a witte..that stretcheth from an ynch narrow to an ell broad. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. i. 22 Italy..growing narrower, and narrower, till it shut out it selfe in two hornes.
1697 S. Patrick Comm. Exod. (xxxix. 3) 710 Then [they] cut off lesser, and narrower Wires.
1723 E. Chambers tr. S. Le Clerc Treat. Archit. I. 91 Make the lower Arch..narrower than usual.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 480 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.
1867 G. MacDonald Ann. Quiet Neighbourhood I. ix. 235 Up a straight steep narrow stair.
1902 J. Conrad Heart of Darkness i, in Youth 62 A narrow and deserted street in deep shadow.
1956 G. Huntington Madame Solario ii. 21 A long and narrow promontory that almost divided the Lake in two.
1991 G. Burn Alma Cogan (1992) iii. 28 We pulled over to let a car squeeze past us at the top of the narrow lane.
b. In figurative contexts. Used chiefly to express the difficulty of following a moral or righteous course in life, esp. echoing Matthew 7:14 (frequently in narrow way).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > [noun] > conduct > course of
narrow wayOE
highwaya1200
the right way (also regionally gate) (of)a1628
straight and narrow path1842
high road1950
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. (headings to readings) xxiii Per latam uiam multos per angustam paucos introire testatur : ðerh brad woeg monige ðerh neruu uel unrum hwon uel unmonige inngae getrymes.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 13 Gangað inn þurh þæt nearwe geat.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6208 Þa follȝhe ȝitt tatt narrwe stih. Þatt ledeþþ ȝunnc till heoffne.
a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 343 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 230 (MED) Go we þane narewe pað [v.rr. narewe wei, naerewne wei] and þene wei grene.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. vii. 14 How streit is the ȝate, and narewe [a1425 L.V. narwȝ; L. arcta] the weye, that ledith to lijf.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1406 (MED) Þe way of lyfe semes narow and harde Þat ledes us til our contre-warde.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. xlii f. 26 (MED) Þis traueil is somdel streit and narw..hit is þe wei wilk Crist teched..seyend þus: Contendite intrare per angustam portam.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) cxviii. 35 This strete is the narw way till heuen.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Aiii An other is so narrow in [1556 betwene] ye sholders, that he can beare no iestes nor tawntes.
1597 Bp. J. King Lect. Ionas x. 142 There is but a narrow path betwixt fire and water, as Esdras speaketh.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 148 Honour trauells in a straight so narrow: Where on but goes a brest.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) i. 1 Tread softly and circumspectly in this..narrow Path of Goodness.
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 146 When Reason doubtful..Points him two ways, the narrower is the better.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 118 Himself a wanderer from the narrow way.
1825 T. Hood & J. H. Reynolds Odes & Addr. 31 O come and teach our children—that ar'n't ours—That heaven's straight pathway is a narrow way.
1839 New World 26 Oct. 1/7 I have heard of many young men who were first drawn aside from the narrow path, by going to those public places where so many bad people go.
1892 R. Kipling Buddha at Kamakura in Times (1940) 2 July 92 O ye who tread the Narrow Way By Tophet-glare to Judgment Day.
1912 T. Dreiser Financier xxiii. 253 In his..occasional variations from the straight and narrow path, he had learned much of the curious resources of immorality.
1994 Museums Jrnl. Sept. 7/2 The emotionally straight and intellectually narrow path of traditional curation.
c. In commercial use, of a piece of cloth: less than 52 inches (approx. 132 cm) wide. Chiefly (now only) in narrow cloth n. at Compounds 3. Cf. also sense B. 3.
ΚΠ
1696 J. F. Merchant's Ware-house 25 It is a coarse narrow Cloth which comes from Hamborough.
1729 Pennsylvania Gaz. 25 Feb. Irish Hollands, Huckabacks, Fine Diaper, sundry sorts, both broad and narrow, Shirting Cloth [etc.].
1759 Newport (Rhode Island) Mercury 26 June 4/1 Three-Quarters Dowlas..red, green, and blue narrow Baise, red and blue Shag.
1796 Pennsylvania Gaz. 13 Apr. A Variety of merchandize, consisting of callicoes, furniture ditto, dimities, fustians, wide and narrow clouded and striped nankeens.
d. Phonetics. = close adj. 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of
openeOE
sharp?1533
simple1582
small1599
soft1625
obscurea1637
round1710
slender1755
close1760
wide1824
lowered1836
narrow1844
labialized1856
orinasal1856
central1857
reduced1861
free1864
high1867
low1867
mid1867
mixed1867
rounded1867
unrounded1871
raised1876
unreduced1894
obscured1897
spread1902
lax1909
slack1909
tense1909
centralized1926
flat1934
r-coloured1935
checked1943
1844 Proc. Philol. Soc. 1 283 The Greek substituted a long and broad vowel for the short and narrow vowel of the nominative.
1890 H. Sweet Primer Spoken Eng. 4 Each of the vowels..is either narrow or wide, according as the tongue and uvula are tense..or relaxed.
1964 R. Jakobson & M. Halle in D. Abercrombie Daniel Jones 98 The ‘high-narrow’ vowels are particularly short.
1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Sept. 40/3 Her speech [is] typically antipodean in its narrow vowels and the upward curve of its sentences.
2.
a. Lacking space or area; of limited size or extent; confined.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [adjective] > confined, restricted, or insufficiently spacious
narroweOE
straitc1290
unwidea1400
scanta1533
angust1540
roomless1548
pinched?1567
niggard1595
strict1598
straitened1602
pinching1607
incommodious1615
incapacious1635
over-strait1645
straiteninga1652
cramp1786
bottleneck1854
cramped1884
tight1937
claustrophobic1946
claustrophobe1954
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > of small or scanty extent
narroweOE
straitc1290
scarce1297
scanta1533
pinched?1567
strict1598
thrifty1601
straitened1602
scanty1701
scrimped?c1716
pookit1818
poky1828
postage-stamp-sized1852
poking1864
boxy1870
pocket handkerchief1910
postage stamp1937
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective]
narroweOE
narrowOE
confininga1616
incarcerating1743
four-walled1905
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective] > restricting or limiting
narroweOE
restraintive1526
limitative1530
circumscribing1571
restrictive1580
restraining1597
continent1598
restricting1606
confininga1616
contractive1624
strait-lacing1636
limiting1656
cohibitive1668
contracting1765
restrictory1776
limitary1822
restrictionary1828
scopeless1882
eOE Metres of Boethius x. 16 [He] þeah ne mæg þone tobredan ofer ðas nearowan..eorðan sceatas.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 3687 Þatt illke child..tær wass leȝȝd. Inn an full naru cribbe.
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 452 (MED) Hwel he bið et hame, alle þine wide wanes þuncheð þe to nearewe [c1225 Titus narewe].
c1450 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1935) 307 (MED) As we turndun owre dance in a narw place, Jak bed me the mouth; a cussynge ther was.
c1475 Mankind (1969) 97 Trace not wyth þem..for I haue tracyed sumwhat to fell; I tell yt ys a narow space.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings vi. 1 The place where we dwell..is to narow for vs.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ciiv Certain Welshemen were lodged at a poore village named Cause, because in Caleys was verye narow lodgyng.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 204 The place being so narrow as shee could onely stand.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. 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 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 With mighty Souls in narrow Bodies prest. View more context for this quotation
1752 D. Hume Polit. Disc. x. 197 What an astonishing multitude in so narrow a country as antient Greece.
1814 R. Southey Tale of Paraguay i. 19 A few firm stakes..Circling a narrow space, yet large enow.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 10 His careful hand,—The space was narrow,—having order'd all.
1871 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch (1872) I. iii. 49 Mr Casaubon apparently did not care about building cottages, and diverted the talk to the extremely narrow accommodation which was to be had in the dwellings of the ancient Egyptians.
1955 V. Nabokov Lolita I. ix. 44 As I look back on those days, I see them divided tidily into ample light and narrow shade.
1960 J. F. Lehmann I am my Brother ii. ii. 47 I made a number of expeditions that Autumn..to see what was happening beyond the narrow frontiers of my own existence.
1983 R. Narayan Tiger for Malgudi 46 He..drove me round and round..in the narrow space.
2001 Irish Times (Electronic ed.) 27 Sept. Standing in the first-floor, open-plan living area it is difficult to believe that so much light and space could be fitted into such narrow confines.
b. Lying or pressing close; confining, oppressive. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective]
narroweOE
narrowOE
confininga1616
incarcerating1743
four-walled1905
OE Riddle 52 3 Þa wæron genamnan, nearwum bendum gefeterade fæste togædre.
OE Blickling Homilies 103 [Hie] wilnodan þæt he hie of þæm nearwan þeostrum alesde.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 4299 Þe brutons gonne to fle, Ac þo hii come among narwe hegges hii stode aȝen anon.
1633 T. May Reigne Henry II vi. 508 He drawes his martiall forces vp, to presse With narrow siege the Towne of Limoges.
a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) II. xiv. 276 Our knowledge of God is confined in narrow bounds.
1793 W. Cowper in Yearly Bill Mortality Parish All-Saints (Northampton) 1792–3 (single sheet) Life within a narrow Ring Of giddy Joys compriz'd.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Charles I iii, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 248 A low dark roof, a damp and narrow vault.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xvii. 72 The immediate and permanent authority of both was..confined within very narrow bounds.
1890 H. D. Rawnsley Poems 198 And theer quoite content is pigs, content to die, It's nobbut an owry world and narrer an all, is the sty.
1939 ‘F. O'Brien’ At Swim-Two-Birds 17 There is no torture so narrow as to be bound and beset in a dark cavern without food or music.
†c. Of the chest: constricted, tight. Of breathing: difficult. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered breathing > [adjective] > other breathing disorders
narroweOE
haemic1857
Cheyne-Stokes breathing1874
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. 174 (table of contents) Wiþ nearwum breostum.
OE tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Vitell.) iv. 246 Wið nearwre sworetunge foxes lungen gesoden & on geswettum wine gedon & geseald, wundorlice hit hæleþ.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 31 Þisne læcedon do þan manne, þa hym beoð on hyra brosten nearuwe, þat Greccas hæteð asmaticos, þæt ys nearunyss.
3.
a. Limited in range or scope; precise; restricted.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective]
narroweOE
restraint1445
modifiedc1485
limitate1541
restricteda1550
strait-laced1549
scant1556
circumcised1561
contract1561
restrained1578
determinate1586
limited1590
restrict1597
strict1597
confined1605
determineda1616
limitary1620
prescript1645
modificated1646
circumscribed1647
conscribed1654
limitated1654
reserved1654
coarctated1655
straiteneda1665
unabsolute1694
stinted1710
bounded1711
contracted1711
cramped1741
special1815
municipal1856
fine-cut1894
stingy1927
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited
narroweOE
restraint1445
modifiedc1485
limitate1541
restricteda1550
scant1556
contract1561
limited1590
confined1605
limitary1620
prescript1645
modificated1646
circumscribed1647
limitated1654
reserved1654
coarctated1655
unabsolute1694
bounded1711
contracted1711
cramped1741
crimped1828
stingy1927
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xviii. 43 Hu ne ongite ge nu hu nearo se eower hlisa bion wile þe ge þær ymb swincað [& unr]ihtlice tioliað [to ge]brædanne?
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. iii It is so narow a poynt to knowe, that it is harde to make a man to vnderstande it by writyng.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 174 The question is yet driuen to a narrower issue.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 330 As for the great Burnings by Lightnings, which are often in the West Indies, they are but narrow.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xi. 321 How foolish..a thing it is, for a Man of narrow Knowledge..to expect Demonstration..in things not capable of it.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 6 One Science only will one Genius fit; So vast is Art, so narrow Human Wit.
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. l. 192 His plan, I think, is too narrow.
1803 H. K. White Lines on Surv. of Heavens in Clifton Grove 67 Can the voice of narrow Fame repay The loss of health?
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 235 The earldom of Northumberland in the narrower sense of the name was vacant.
1926 A. S. Pearse Animal Ecol. ii. 34 A narrow range of temperature changes.
1982 I. Asimov Foundation's Edge (1983) vi. 82 I went to military college, which emphasized nucleonics and gravitics, but I'm not exactly a narrow specialist.
1988 Mod. Painters Autumn 7/2 My art knowledge was narrow; he lent me books.
2000 Observer (Electronic ed.) 5 Nov. His bride, a graduate of the Yale School of Management, was ‘a bit frustrated’ by the narrow scope of her activities.
b. Limited or restricted in amount. Also: = straitened adj. 4; very small or poor. narrow circumstances n. = straitened circumstances at straitened adj. 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount
narrowOE
poor?c1225
scarce1297
straitc1386
feeblea1513
scant1556
niggardly1564
slender1564
limited1590
scanted1594
sparing1602
scantled1604
stinted1629
exiguous1630
unlavished1635
scanty1658
unprofuse1727
costivea1734
incopious1734
niggard1751
jimp1768
skimped1839
stingy1854
restricted1856
niggard-measured1881
OE Genesis A (1931) 944 Het hie from hweorfan neorxnawange on nearore lif.
lOE Homily: In Letania Maiore (Hatton 116) in F. Holthausen & H. Spies Festschrift f. Lorenz Morsbach (1913) 135 Ðonne þa arleasan & þa synfullan hi berað nearowne wæstm & sceandfulne on ansyne þes heahstan scyppendes.
a1600 (?c1535) tr. H. Boece Hist. Scotl. (Mar Lodge) (1946) ii. xii. f. 84 Apoun rutis of herbis..scho liffit ane herd and narow liffe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. iv. 8 Most narrow measure: [he] lent me. View more context for this quotation
1668 R. Steele Husbandmans Calling (1672) ix. 239 Let me rather have a narrow estate and wide soul.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 108. ⁋7 We find several Citizens that were launched into the World with narrow Fortunes.
1734 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (1827) II. ii. 112 His circumstances were very narrow.
a1817 J. Austen Lady Susan iii, in Wks. (1954) VI. 247 In narrow circumstances it was proper to render her pecuniary assistance.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. v. v. 657 The Court overruled the objection, but only by the narrowest majority.
1871 G. MacDonald At Back of North Wind xxxii. 319 Tumbling against the partition as he rolled over on his side to give his legs every possible privilege in their narrow circumstances.
1942 S. O'Casey Red Roses for Me i. 5 How a man, with his money, can go on livin' in two rooms in a house an' sthreet only a narrow way betther than this, I don't know.
1983 in Peter Grimes: Gloriana (1993) 15 It was a hard life and they were in narrow circumstances.
c. Of time: short, brief.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adjective]
shortc888
littleOE
shortlya1050
briefc1400
momentlya1425
small?a1439
momentany1447
momentaneous?a1450
stunta1450
momentaryc1485
momentane1510
hourlya1535
sudden1561
momentaneala1581
span-long1593
momentaneana1599
momental1606
narrow1611
timeless1657
concise1785
succinct1796
ultra-short1962
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. L5 Had I not beene brought into such a narrow compasse of time.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica iii. vi. 117 From this narrow time of gestation [may] ensue a..smalnesse in the exclusion. View more context for this quotation
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci v. iv. 102 Upon the giddy, sharp and narrow hour Tottering beneath us.
1993 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 4 Nov. d10 Try getting a phone problem solved—or even a question answered—outside the narrow hours of operation that suit AGT.
2001 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 20 Apr. 28 To what extent are we blinkered in our assessment of humans by our narrow time in history?
†d. Of meat: of below average quality (see quot. 1699). Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
ΚΠ
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew (at cited word) 'Tis all narrow, said by the Butchers one to another when their Meat proves not so good as expected.
e. Economics. Of a market: in which demand for a commodity is low or the supply is limited, esp. to the extent that slight fluctuations in either result in large price movements; (also) in which trading is slow and is limited to major areas.
ΚΠ
1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations II. iv. viii. 280 Without an extensive foreign market, they could not well flourish either in countries so moderately extensive as to afford but a narrow home market; or [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1884 N. Amer. Rev. 139 288 Free trade..would enable manufacturers to pay higher wages..and, by compelling them to rely for their profit upon the amount of their production, instead of the monopoly of a narrow market, would compel them to employ more workmen.
1904 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 10 279 In the Middle Ages production was carried on by the domestic and craft systems, with very narrow markets and restricted trade between different parts of the country.
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.
1997 Mail on Sunday 10 Aug. (Financial section) 18/2 The market in them is usually very narrow, often with only one market-maker.
4.
†a. Strict, close, rigorous; painstaking, careful. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > investigation, inspection > close examination, scrutiny > [adjective] > of scrutiny: close, rigorous
narroweOE
searching1648
close1662
subsoil1882
tooth-comb1893
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adjective] > scrupulously careful or attentive to detail > characterized by scrupulous care > strict, careful, or detailed
narroweOE
searchinga1555
strict1598
scrutinous1599
press?1611
close1662
minutea1697
near-sighted1828
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) liii. 413 Ðæt hi unaðrotenlice ða gedonan synna gelæden beforan hira modes eagan, & ðonne hi hi gesewene hæbben, gedon ðæt hie ne ðyrfen bion gesewene æt ðæm nearwan dome.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 115 Þe sterke dom of domesdei & se naru midalle þet euch idel word bið þera ibrocht forð.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 81 Hwa se wule ifinden ed te nearewe domesmon mearci & are.
1552 in W. K. Clay Liturg. Services Q. Eliz. (1847) 246 If thou shouldest enter into thy narrow judgment with me,..I were never able to suffer it.
1579 W. Fulke Confut. Treat. N. Sander in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 692 You are..a narrowe vewer of such idle pictures.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue i. 4 Millions..are now dayly troubled with your so narrow looking thereinto.
1648 in W. Cramond Extracts Rec. Synod of Moray (1906) 94 The presbytery of Strathboggie appoynted to..mak narrow search of the same [report].
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 512 Thenceforth I thought thee worth my nearer view And narrower Scrutiny. View more context for this quotation
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 162. ⁋2 I have made a narrow search into the nature of the old Roman censors.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle I. xxxiii. 248 Seeking to make a narrower inquiry.
b. Of the eyes, etc.: critical, searching.When used of the eyes, partly showing literal use of sense A. 1a. Cf. narrow-eyed adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > a look or glance > [adjective] > piercing
poignant?a1439
sharp1535
narrow1587
searching1597
scanning1863
the world > life > the body > sense organ > sight organ > types of sight organ > [adjective]
piercinga1400
piercive1567
narrow1587
lynceous1592
lyncean1622
telescopic1749
ferrety1801
pee pee1804
falcon-eyed1847
peepy1847
naked-bladed1856
gimlety1899
night-adapted1961
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. vi. 170/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I They..sit still pinking with their narrow eies.
1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 55v An extreame delight and desired nourishment vnto a narrowe looke and greedie eye.
1622 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Phylaster (new ed.) iii. 37 I..placed thee there, To prye with narrow eyes into her deeds.
1704 W. Taverner Faithful Bride of Granada i. 2 As with a narrow Eye, he sought the place.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iv. xxix. 227 Looking into her eyes with his narrow gaze.
1902 J. W. De Forest Poems 193 They who look upon thee there Shall scan thee with a narrow stare.
1988 L. Erdrich Tracks (1989) vi. 143 Fleur searched my face with her hard narrow eyes.
2001 Financial Times (Electronic ed.) 10 Mar. His review of institutional investment in the UK..began as a narrow look at why UK pension funds are reluctant to invest in venture capital.
c. Phonetics. Designating a detailed phonetic transcription of an utterance, esp. one in which allophonic as well as phonemic information is recorded.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > [adjective] > representing spoken sounds > type of transcription
broad1877
narrow1877
Romic1877
analphabetic1889
antalphabetic1933
impressionistic1939
1877 H. Sweet Handbk. Phonetics 105 The different values of each of the vowel signs in this system, which I will call ‘Broad Romic’, in apposition to the scientific ‘Narrow Romic’, as indicating only broad distinctions of sound.
1908 H. Sweet Sounds of Eng. 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 8 49/2 I have never been able to understand how there might be any advantage whatever of broad over narrow transcription for English.
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.
1999 Handbk. Internat. Phonetic Assoc. 28 The term narrow transcription most commonly implies a transcription which contains details of the realization of phonemes.
5.
a. Sparing, parsimonious, mean. Now regional.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective]
gnedec900
gripplea1000
fastOE
narrow-hearteda1200
narrow?c1225
straitc1290
chinchc1300
nithinga1325
scarcec1330
clama1340
hard1340
scantc1366
sparingc1386
niggardc1400
chinchy?1406
retentivea1450
niggardousa1492
niggish1519
unliberal1533
pinching1548
dry1552
nigh1555
niggardly1560
churlish1566
squeamish1566
niggardish1567
niggard-like1567
holding1569
spare1577
handfast1578
envious1580
close-handed1585
hard-handed1587
curmudgeonly1590
parsimonious?1591
costive1594
hidebound1598
penny-pinching1600
penurious1600
strait-handed1600
club-fisted1601
dry-fisted1604
fast-handed1605
fast-fingered1607
close-fisted1608
near1611
scanting1613
carkingc1620
illiberal1623
clutch-fisteda1634
hideboundeda1640
clutch-fista1643
clunch-fisted1644
unbounteous1645
hard-fisted1646
purse-bound1652
close1654
stingy1659
tenacious1676
scanty1692
sneaking1696
gripe-handed1698
narrow-souled1699
niggardling1704
snippy1727
unindulgent1742
shabby1766
neargoinga1774
cheesemongering1781
split-farthing1787
save-all1788
picked1790
iron-fisted1794
unhandsome1800
scaly1803
nearbegoing1805
tight1805
nippit1808
nipcheese1819
cumin-splitting1822
partan-handed1823
scrimping1823
scrumptious1823
scrimpy1825
meanly1827
skinny1833
pinchfisted1837
mean1840
tight-fisted1843
screwy1844
stinty1849
cheeseparing1857
skinflinty1886
mouly1904
mingy1911
cheapskate1912
picey1937
tight-assed1961
chintzy1964
tightwad1976
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 316 Of mete & of claðes..beoð large toward ham þach ȝe narewe [c1230 Corpus nearowe; a1250 Nero þe neruwure] beon & harde to ow seoluen.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) i. 61 Yat jt is na vice jn a king tobe narow till him self, and large to his subiectis.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xiv. sig. Y4v To narrow brests he comes all wrapt in gaine.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 261 Nouther..ouer skairs, narraw, or gredie.
1659 A. Hay Diary (1901) 220 It was not expedient to me to buy from them becaus they are somquhat narrow.
1731 R. Wodrow Analecta (1842) IV. 262 He was exceeding narrou, they say, and hard to his relations.
1796 Hist. Ned Evans I. 146 He was..so extremely narrow as to allow himself little more than the bare necessaries of life.
1821 J. Galt Ann. Parish iii. 38 He was a narrow ailing man.
1897 J. Gordon Village & Doctor 72 It ain't as I was a narrer man.., I bain't mean.
1932 ‘O. Douglas’ Priorsford xxviii She's a dacent cratur', but a wee thing narrow!
1987 Random House Dict. Narrow, (New Eng.) stingy or parsimonious.
b. Of a person, intellect, etc.: restricted or rigid in views; narrow-minded, intolerant, prejudiced.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1612 J. Donne Second Anniuersarie 25 in First Anniuersarie Thou art to narrow, wretch, to comprehend.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. Pref. sig. Bv They are but narrow souls, and not worthy the name of Philosophers.
1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 9 Some Jews being so narrow as to think Circumcision..necessary.
1760 S. Foote Minor i. 11 People, who have their attention eternally fix'd upon one object, can't help being a little narrow in their notions.
1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 337 The days..of cold hearts and narrow minds.
1874 J. S. Blackie On Self-culture 30 The merely professional man is always a narrow man.
a1979 J. Grenfell Turn back Clock (1983) ii. 223 People are very narrow where I live. They have such little lives.
1992 Buffalo (N.Y.) News 23 Aug. g7/2 Many still think that the metropolitan areas outside the old downtowns are primarily the landscape of broad lawns and narrow minds.
c. Of an action, view, disposition, etc.: bigoted, illiberal.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1622 W. Scot Course Conformitie 109 A narrow faith makes a roome conscience.
1657 in T. Burton Diary (1828) II. 248 It is very narrow not to let it extend to the protestants elsewhere, as those in Munster.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. i. 61 We have not those narrow conceptions of these subtle Spirits.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 126. ⁋9 I daily find more Instances of this narrow Party-Humour.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxx. 177 The events..have undoubtedly been diminished by the narrow and imperfect view of the historians of the times.
1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab v. 67 Blunting the keenness of his spiritual sense With narrow schemings and unworthy cares.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People viii. §1. 452 There was nothing narrow or illiberal in his early training.
1969 J. Gross Rise & Fall Man of Lett. i. 7 On the other hand they were unashamed vehicles for party propaganda, often of the narrowest kind, and generally too overbearing and coarse-grained in their approach to encourage criticism of much depth.
1984 A. Thwaite Edmund Gosse ii. 54 Such intense concern that the boy should remain within the cage of his own narrow dogma.
1999 Oberver (Electronic ed.) 29 Nov. International bonds can have a place in a portfolio but investors should look for a mixture rather than locking into a fund with a narrow philosophy.
†d. Exclusive; reluctant to admit new members. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > [adjective] > exclusive
exclusive1822
narrow1855
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 143 In no danger of falling under the dominion either of a despot or of a narrow oligarchy.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 208 An oligarchy not less proud, and even more narrow, than their brethren of Bern and Venice.
6. Near, close.
†a. Coming near the truth. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > strict, rigorous
just1490
nicea1522
point-devicea1529
exact1533
narrow1551
rigorousa1564
point-vice1574
curious1614
rigid?1626
hard1690
strict1749
deadly1909
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > closeness to accuracy > [adjective]
narrow1551
rough1561
propinquec1570
close1719
approximated1789
proximate1796
approximate1816
approximative1830
ballpark1960
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Ivv Thei haue a narow gesse by al likelihod that the hare was there a litle before.
1679 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 3) 4 What some upon an accurate and narrow guess have not feared to pronounce.
†b. Of friendship: close, intimate. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > [adjective] > intimate or familiar > (of friendship) intimate
near1523
straita1533
narrow1556
1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. B Remembring them bothe of their narrowe frendshippe.
1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 247 The Iudge cannot hold narrow friendship with any man.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) i. 43 He is like to be mistaken, who..relieth upon the Reed of narrow and poltron Friendship.
c. Of an escape, etc.: barely effected.Recorded earlier for the adverb: see narrowly adv. 4b.
ΚΠ
1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession E j b She ioyed nothyng so muche in the narrowe escape she had made with life.
1603 N. Breton Merrie Dialogue 11 He still put me vpon such continuall exploits, as threatned euerie houre narow escape of my life.
1668 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 3 731 I had a very narrow escape from an excellent Horse.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. ix. 208 The lucky and narrow Escape of Partridge. View more context for this quotation
1796 W. Dunlap Archers iii. iii. 68 Thank you.—I've had a narrow squeak of it.
1814 W. Scott Waverley II. vii. 130 He had made a narrow escape, however; the bullet had grazed his head. View more context for this quotation
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. i. 2 I have had more than one narrow squeak for it.
1874 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. I. viii. 223 The escape was a narrow one.
1942 L. D. Rich We took to Woods vii. 184 I knew all about the thrill and perils of white-water driving—the big jam, the narrow escapes.
1999 J. Crace Being Dead (2000) vii. 47 Celice had had a narrow squeak. She might have ended up with one in her bed, and nothing to show for it.
d. Curling and Bowls. (a) Bowled or delivered along a line too close to the target to allow for the bias or curl; also applied to a player who delivers the bowl or stone in this way; cf. narrow adv. 3c; (b) (of a ball or stone) made to move with less bias or curl than is standard; also applied to the bias itself.In Curling the effect of the bias can be reduced by sweeping.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [adjective] > having bias > too much
narrow1699
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Narrow, when the Biass of the Bowl holds too much.
1932 H. P. Webber & J. W. Fisher Mod. Technique Bowls xx. 177 When insufficient land has been given, and the wood cuts across and finishes on the side of the jack opposite to that from which it was bowled, the term ‘narrow wood’ is used.
1948 H. P. Webber Bowls ii. 13 A player is said to be narrow when he plays with insufficient land.
2001 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 1 Aug. 63 The bowls, which came from the manufacturer with too narrow a bias, are back in their bags.
e. Of a victory or defeat: won or conceded by only a small margin; very close.
ΚΠ
1828 Times 16 July They had gained a narrow victory on proceeding to a division.
1867 Baily's Mag. Sports & Pastimes May 119 He is a long way better than ‘Jack Hall’, whose very narrow defeat of a third-rate Oxford crew has done as much as anything perhaps to perpetuate a ‘style’ at Cambridge that is altogether ruinous and false.
1876 Victoria (Austral.) Parl. Deb. 22 1256/2 It is neither dignified nor fair..to be otherwise than satisfied with what is certainly a victory but a most narrow victory—a victory they may well be ashamed of.
1894 Golfing Ann. 7 45 Mr. Fairlie snatched a narrow win by holing a long steal from the edge of the green.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 17 At the election for the Oxford Chair of Poetry in 1951, I attribute my narrow victory over C. S. Lewis to a handful of aged voters.
1978 G. R. Orren in S. M. Lipset Emerging Coalitions Amer. Politics vii. 134 Conservative ideologues blamed his narrow defeat on failure to take more forthright ideological positions.
2001 Scotsman (Electronic ed.) 8 Oct. Sulk provided a sole moment of joy for British stables..with a narrow win in the Prix Marcel Boussac under Dettori.
2011 E. S. Krauss & R. J. Pekkanen Rise & Fall Japan's LDP x. 284 Our argument is that even a narrow defeat can produce very distinct outcomes from a paper-thin victory.
B. n.
†1. A confined place; confinement, prison. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
OE Cynewulf Elene 711 Hio bebead hraðe þæt hine man of nearwe ond of nydcleofan, fram þam engan hofe, up forlete.
OE Riddle 61 6 Siðþan me on hreþre heafod sticade, nioþan upweardne, on nearo fegde.
OE Genesis A (1931) 1431 Hwonne hie of nearwe ofer nægledbord ofer streamstaðe stæppan mosten.
2. A narrow part, place, or thing; the narrow part of something.
†a. gen. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [noun] > insufficiency of space > a confined or restricted space
narrowc1230
strait1352
throata1522
strait1545
straitness1625
constriction1826
bottleneck1850
fisherman's walk1867
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [noun] > a narrow part
narrowc1230
narrowingc1454
small?a1500
intake1808
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > essential or central
pitheOE
effectc1405
substancec1450
kernel1556
nick1577
keystone1641
vitals1657
narrow1702
secret1738
ganglion1828
nub1833
primality1846
keyword1848
knub1864
buzzword1946
in word1964
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 221 Swa deð þe wel blawed went te nearewe [a1250 Nero þene neruwure ende] of þe horn to his ahne muð ant utward þet wide.
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) 3493 (MED) Into þe narwe hij come, hem to lett.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Esdras vii. 5 Yf he wente not thorow the narow, how might he come in to the brode?
1642 D. 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 Magnalia Christi iii. i. App. 61/2 When it came to the Narrow of any Question..he would still profess himself conquered by Mr. Hooker's Reason.
1742 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 3) II. 270 We might also mention another Narrow; that is, the Minds of the Generality of its People.
1835 W. G. Sims Yemassee II. xxiii. 201 The Englishman leaped upon him with both feet, striking his heel securely down upon the narrow of his sinuous back.
1870 Galaxy Oct. 520 Life's precious sands The narrow of my glass, the present, run.
b. A narrow part of a sound, strait, or river. Also figurative. Now only in plural, with singular or plural agreement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > narrow part
strait?1427
narrowa1544
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > channel > [noun] > strait or narrow channel
sounda1300
straitc1386
narrowa1544
kyle1549
guta1552
distrait1562
fret1576
pacea1578
cut1598
narrow seas1615
Propontis1689
neck1719
tickle1770
rigolet1771
khal1903
a1544 R. Barlow tr. M. Fernández de Enciso Brief Summe Geogr. (1932) 113 Ffrom the narowe [Sp. Desdel angosto] of the entring of the red see unto sama is 70 leges.
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 106 We were in the narrow of the Straight.
1702 London Gaz. No. 3844/4 In the Narrow off of Winterton.
1743 J. Bulkeley & J. Cummins Voy. to South-seas 145 At Four this Morning weighed, and steered E.N.E. for the Narrows.
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans II. iii. 42 They entered the narrows of the lake, and stole swiftly and cautiously among their numberless little islands.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack li. 372 We should have been taken possession of by a privateer in the very narrows.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 4 Through the narrows the tide bubbles, muddy like a river.
1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 51 Lo! I am flesh, and the blood that races Is me in the narrows of my wrists.
1988 E. Wood et al. Sea Life Brit. & Ireland 176 Many lochs exhibit a further common feature. This is the presence of a narrows, strait or pass produced by restriction of the junction to the open sea.
1999 J. Raban Passage to Juneau iv. 199 When the brig and schooner pulled into the jaws of the narrows..the ebb was already running fast.
†c. North American. The narrowest part of an isthmus, peninsula, or island. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1668 in Amer. Speech (1940) 15 288/1 To an oake marked on three sides standing in the narrow of yt neck.
1716 B. Church Entertaining Passages Philip's War i. 6 They Marched until they came to the narrow of the Neck.
1747 W. Stith Hist. Virginia 122 Sir Thomas Dale..pitched upon a Place for his new Town, on the Narrow of Farrar's Island, in Varina Neck.
†d. Chiefly U.S. A narrow part of a pass or valley; a narrow way between mountains. In later use only in plural. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > valley > [noun] > mountain pass
gowl1638
notch1649
ghat1698
neck1707
slap1715
narrow1768
bealach1794
poort1796
kotal1880
1768 C. Beatty Jrnl. Two Months' Tour 16 We travelled up Juniata river,..through a bad road, to a place called the Narrows.
1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 6 Aug. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 403 We passed the narrows or gaps of two ranges of high mountains.
1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi (1810) 175 A fine creek, which we followed through narrows in the mountains for about six miles.
1853 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Dec. 675 Our walk was a continuous ascent, and sometimes a steep one, and we gradually drew more and more into the narrows of the pass.
1896 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 228 We entered the narrows of the mountain saddle.
e. A narrow part of a street. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > narrow parts of
narrow1772
1772 C. Hutton Princ. Bridges 2 Streets..without narrows or crooked windings.
1866 J. Conington tr. Virgil 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?
1992 N. Curry Walking to Santiago 45 The bulls [in Pamplona] are out there already running up Santo Domingo, then swinging left..bunching into the narrows of the Estafeta.
†f. Mining. A narrow gallery cut at right angles to a broad gallery. Cf. narrow work n. at Compounds 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > passage > horizontal > types of
level1721
roadway1832
side drift1837
narrow1850
entry1854
rise heading1872
cross-head1877
sump drift1880
gopher-drift1881
stone-heading1892
1850 D. T. Ansted Elem. Course 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 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Narrows, galleries or roadways driven at right angles to drifts..and not quite so large in area.
†3. A constriction of the heart, chest, etc. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 50 (MED) An othir for narow of the breste & streyte.
?a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 14th Cent. (1899) 44 (MED) Take hede þat þou [read lest þou] lete to moche bloud..þer-of comeþ narwe at þe herte and euel in þe heuyd.
†4. A piece of narrow cloth (narrow cloth n. at Compounds 3). Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1532–3 in J. Raine Durham Househ. Bk. (1844) 134 9 Peayce narroys continentes inter eos simul 13dd. et 6 uln. narroys.

Compounds

C1. Parasynthetic and similative.
a.
narrow-backed adj.
ΚΠ
1847 W. Youatt Pig 58 Narrow-backed, flat-sided..animals.
1915 Boston Med. Jrnl. 172 883/1 Narrow-Backed—The type of human being for which the above term has been used is essentially different from the so-called normal in most of its characteristics.
2000 Sunday Times (Nexis) 30 Apr. In 1997 Kerins was pitched into the All-Ireland quarter final against Kilkenny; narrow-backed and not yet twenty.
narrow-beamed adj.
ΚΠ
1892 Cent. Mag. May 25 The narrow-beamed cutter with very deep draught has also held her own in such weather.
2001 Newsday (Nexis) 2 Sept. a8 The 48-foot Pelican, narrow-beamed and freshly painted, cut a rakish profile on the docks.
narrow-billed adj.
ΚΠ
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 322 These latter [birds] again we subdivide into narrow-bill'd and broad-bill'd: The narrow-bill'd have their Bills either hooked at the end, or streighter and sharp-pointed.
1851 S. F. Baird tr. J. G. Heck Iconogr. Encycl. II. Zool. 359 The common plantcutter (Phytotoma silens), the narrow-billed (P. angustirostris), and the rusty plantcutter (P. rutila) are the known species.
1909 A. E. Mack Bush Calendar 9 Birds breeding in August... Chalcococcyx basalis. Narrow-billed bronze cuckoo.
1984 Ecology 65 1635 Long-legged, narrow-billed species (e.g., Veery, Wood Thrush, and Hermit Thrush).
narrow-bladed adj.
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball ii. xxxvii. 195 The stinking flagge or Gladyn hath long narrow bladed [Fr. estroictes, semblables aux fueilles de la Flambe] leaues.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 465 Modelling it..with a sharp narrow-bladed knife.
2001 Palm Beach (Florida) Post (Nexis) 10 Aug. d1 Bahia: this narrow-bladed grass is found along highways and is drought-tolerant.
narrow-bodied adj.
ΚΠ
1853 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Dec. 636 There were some long, narrow-bodied, big-wheeled carts.
1992 Wall St. Jrnl. 25 Nov. a12/3 With the advent of widebody aircraft and, later, with the narrow-bodied planes..these overhead racks acquired latching doors.
narrow-bottomed adj.
ΚΠ
1652 S. Taylor Common-good 52 Let it be either the straight laced flagon, or the narrow bottom'd pot, the best of them is but the one half it should be.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 4 In a narrow-bottom'd Ditch, if Cattle get into it, they cannot stand to turn themselves.
1859 D. H. Jacques House 172 Dig a round hole into the ground with sloping sides, somewhat in the form of a narrow-bottomed tub.
2001 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch (Nexis) 7 Feb. 2 c Combine the milk, rum, pudding mix and topping mix in a deep narrow-bottomed bowl.
narrow-brained adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1835 Southern Literary Messenger 1 557 ‘There are many roads leading to Rome.’ He was not narrow-brained enough to believe that there was but one.
2001 LA Weekly (Nexis) 1 June 58 Well, that's my narrow-brained loss.
narrow-brimmed adj.
ΚΠ
1610 W. Pemberton Let. 9 Mar. in W. Foster Lett. received by E. India Co. (1896) (modernized text) i. 59 The hat which you sent for..I understand is too narrow brimmed for you.
1686 London Gaz. No. 2145/4 A little narrow-brim'd black Hat.
1820 L. Hunt Indicator 8 Mar. 172 The Chinese..are a hatted race, both narrow-brimmed and broad.
1994 C. McCarthy Crossing 337 Two men in the narrowbrimmed hats and walkingheel boots that landowners wore were standing on the sidewalk.
narrow-celled adj.
ΚΠ
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. II. 464 The wide dotted vessels composed of short cells are wanting which penetrate the dense narrow-celled masses of the wood of Dicotyledons.
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 376 The periphery of the cylinder is occupied by a meristematic narrow-celled ring.
1924 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 51 231 The broad, narrow-celled border of the leaf-base.
1993 S. E. Stevens & W. Hernandez-Muniz in P. M. Gresshoff Plant Responses to Environm. viii. 112 Wide cells serve as the starting point for new narrow-celled trichomes.
narrow-chested adj.
ΚΠ
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια xiii. i. 927 Those that are narrow chested their Lungs also and bowels are but short and narrow.
1696 W. Hope tr. J. de Solleysel Compl. Horseman i. xiv. 53 The imperfection of being narrow chested, besides that it hindreth a Horse to have a good body, his wind and breathing is also never so very free.
1823 Lancet 5 Oct. 27/1 The pulmonary arteries of narrow-chested persons..soon feel the effects of a sudden increase in the circulating medium.
1996 J. Updike In Beauty of Lilies 5 He was a tall, narrow-chested man of forty-four.
† narrow clothed adj. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > poorly or insufficiently dressed
single1380
narrow clotheda1450
misdight1597
underclad1622
underclothed1890
parish rigged1899
kitless1936
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 540 (MED) If a wight vertuous, but narwe clothid, To lordes curtes now of dayes go, His compaignye is vn-to folkes lothid.
† narrow-compassed adj. Obsolete rare
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1647 H. More Philos. Poems ii. App. ciii Within his narrow-compast brains.
narrow-ended adj.
ΚΠ
1853 Bentley's Misc. Mar. 355 My south passage was cut off by a narrow-ended lake.
1998 Good Housek. (Nexis) July 44 She gently touched each mark with an electric cautery, a long, narrow-ended tool.
narrow grated adj.
ΚΠ
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest III. xxii. 281 Its heavy black walls, and narrow-grated windows.
1941 Stanford Stud. Lang. & Lit. 307 The prison cell, which has a narrow grated window set in a thick stone wall and a bench beneath.
narrow-heeled adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting or baiting animals > fighting between animals > [adjective] > spurred
narrow-heeled1611
sharp-heeled?c1660
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Encastellé, a being incastellated, or growing narrow heeled; a vicious, or painfull narrownesse in a horses heele.
1831 J. F. South tr. A. W. Otto Pathol. Anat. ii. 116 In horses a hoof may be too narrow, the so-called narrow-heeled hoof.
2001 Tulsa World (Nexis) 6 Sept. (Living section) The Harvard research team videotaped 20 healthy women..walking in both wide- and narrow-heeled dress shoes.
narrow-hipped adj.
ΚΠ
1869 E. H. Williamson Quaker Partisans 17 He was a good-looking fellow himself, moderately tall, broad-shouldered and narrow-hipped.
2001 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 9 Aug. v1 Her dance partner..is tall, broad-shouldered and narrow-hipped.
† narrow holed adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour ii. xiv. sig. Xiij In a narowe holed seeue they will stille abide with the good corne.
narrow-laced adj.
ΚΠ
1784 G. Colman Two to One iii. i. 43 The dapper sons appear in jemmy narrow-laced cloaths.
1882 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 251 Jeffrey's more narrow-laced clientage of the blue-and-yellow.
1910 J. H. Drevenstedt Standard-bred Wyandottes v. 60/1 The breast and cushion are wonderfully narrow laced, the black beautifully edging the large pure white centers.
2006 P. Warg Making Metal Beads 23/1 Narrow-laced hammers create lines or hatch marks.
† narrow-limited adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1690 J. Child Disc. Trade Pref. sig. B3v These Trades..the Dutch Interest of 3 per cent, and narrow limitted Companies in England have beat us out of.
1765 J. Dickinson Late Regulations Brit. Colonies i Narrow-limited notions in trade and planting..are always injurious to the public interests.
† narrow listed adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1603 Burford Reg. in Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS: Var. Coll. (1901) I. 72 Confecit..duos pannos laneos vocatos narowe listed whites.
narrow-meshed adj.
ΚΠ
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 325 Bands of tissue, appearing irregularly narrow-meshed in cross-section.
2000 Rubber World (Nexis) 1 May 38 Measure the pressure rise while a compound is being passed through a narrow-meshed screen pack.
narrow-muzzled adj.
ΚΠ
1844 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 423 The sacred crocodile was naturally not less ferocious than its neighbours, and..the narrow-muzzled variety was not exclusively cared for by the priests.
1962 R. Carpenter Greek Art 51 Two ears and possibly two eyes articulate the narrow-muzzled head.
narrow-nosed adj.
ΚΠ
1846 F. Brittan tr. J. F. Malgaigne Man. Operative Surg. 269 A little osseous projection..in narrow-nosed people.
1989 S. G. Hall & J. Clutton-Brock 200 Years Brit. Farm Livestock xiv. 165 The Old Wiltshire Horn was tall, long-legged, big-boned, and narrow-nosed.
narrow-pointed adj.
ΚΠ
1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana 44 The Pigeon, or Angola Pea Tree, is a branching shrub..covered with smooth, long, narrow-pointed leaves.
1999 Detroit Free Press (Nexis) 26 Aug. Make sure your tools aren't dull, whether you choose a small seam ripper or narrow-pointed scissors.
† narrow quartered adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1607 W. Raleigh Lett. (1999) 303 And the same qualitie have all narrow-quartered ships to sink after the tayle.
† narrow-shared adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1765 Universal Mag. 37 33/2 He plowed them up with a narrow-shared wheel-plow.
narrow-shouldered adj.
ΚΠ
1651 J. Ogilby Fables of Æsop Paraphras'd ii. 23 When the hot Dog-star, joyn'd with Phaebus beams, Drank broad-backd floods, to narrow-shoulderd streams.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped iii. 16 He was a mean, stooping, narrow-shouldered, clay-faced creature.
2001 Spectator (Nexis) 18 Aug. 36 Queeney's mother, the narrow-shouldered, keenwitted, vivacious Hester.
narrow-slitted adj.
ΚΠ
1903 Bot. Gaz. 36 357 It possesses a compact stele.., small and narrow-slitted stomata, all markedly xerophytic features.
1996 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 July i. 15/2 Brown buildings with narrow-slitted barred windows.
narrow-slotted adj.
ΚΠ
1861 Sci. Amer. 16 Nov. 317 Cleansing grain, by passing it over a screen having deep grooves with wide tops and narrow slotted bottoms.
1996 Discover (Nexis) Jan. 98 An oversize pastry or waffle in a hot, narrow-slotted toaster may not pop up at all.
narrow-snouted adj.
ΚΠ
1818 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 108 417 A narrow snouted dolphin is supposed to inhabit the Indian seas.
2001 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 4 July d2/1 Gar are prehistoric fish—narrow-snouted, thickly armoured, air-breathing and vaguely reptilian in appearance.
narrow-sterned adj.
ΚΠ
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. at Pink A kind of heavy narrow-sterned ship.
1799 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 130 The insides were plowed, with a wide sterned plow,..and the outsides with a narrow sterned plow.
1863 A. Young Naut. Dict. 285 Pink,..a narrow-sterned vessel, chiefly of the Mediterranean.
1951 H. I. Chapelle Amer. Small Sailing Craft ii. 85 The development of the dory from a rather wide-sterned skiff to the modern narrow-sterned boat.
2003 D. Kampion Way of Surfer 109/2 Those thick, lightweight, narrow-sterned, box-sided inventions were especially cumbersome and tippy and were steered at the rear from a high center of gravity.
narrow-streeted adj.
ΚΠ
1700 Wallace's Acct. Orkney (rev. ed.) 78 Kirkwall..narrow streeted and about a mile in length.
1997 C. Shields Larry's Party vi. 110 The houses in old, narrow-streeted Winnipeg were often built in groups of three.
narrow throated adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > sectarianism > bigotry > [adjective]
bigotish1652
bigoted1660
bigoticala1670
narrow throated1673
1673 H. Hickman Hist. Quinq-articularis 355 I see not what there is in these passages, which the most strait, narrow-throated Calvinist may not swallow.
1986 G. Szirtes Photographer in Winter 17 The small lift shuts and forces itself up A narrow throated shaft.
narrow-toned adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > non-resonance > [adjective]
deada1533
sullen1599
wooden1609
flat1626
shallow1626
lumpish1742
dowf1768
toneless1773
deadish1783
insonorous1795
tubby1807
veiled1816
puffy1832
narrow-toned1865
woolly1872
woody1875
dull1878
irresonant1899
1865 M. Arnold Ess. Crit. Pref. p. xiv That powerful, but at present somewhat narrow-toned organ, the modern Englishman.
2001 Times (Nexis) 10 July (Features section) The tenor James Gilchrist made positive contributions, but Susan Gritton's narrow-toned soprano came and went.
narrow-topped adj.
ΚΠ
1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper xvi. 335 When they are cold, put them into narrow-topped Jars.
1981 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 293 411 A narrow-topped ridge of Keuper Marl separating two steep-sided depressions.
† narrow-verged adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
a1678 A. Marvell Garden i Some single herb or tree, Whose short and narrow-verged shade Does prudently their toils upbraid.
narrow visioned adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]
narrowed1599
narrow-minded1611
narrow1612
small1619
narrow1622
tub-brained1634
narrow-souled1641
narrow-spirited1645
narrow-compassed1647
illiberal1649
cat-witted1672
stingy1694
little-minded1707
straitened1712
unenlarged1741
contracted1765
one-eyed1779
unliberalized1793
nippit1808
small-minded1811
narrow-brained1835
narrow visioned1853
thin-minded1862
narrow-gauge1872
one-track1900
narrow-gutted1903
tunnel-visioned1968
1853 Southern Q. Rev. Jan. 51 Let the Congress never make a favourable response to the cry of narrow-visioned and ephemeral demagogues.
2001 Western Morning News (Plymouth) 4 July (Features) 4 The mindless, narrow visioned, strutting windbags we are currently burdened with.
narrow-waisted adj.
ΚΠ
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. v. 237/2 The Gowns were broad-Shouldered, narrow-Wasted.
1993 Dog World Feb. 21/3 Tex came from Texas, but he was not the lanky, narrow-waisted type.
narrow wheeled adj.
ΚΠ
1759 Ann. Reg. 1758 i. 112/2 A narrow wheeled waggon.
1998 Western Morning News (Nexis) 17 Apr. Loose layers of gravel are difficult to move, especially with narrow wheeled equipment.
b.
† narrow-cast adv. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1778 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 26 Mar. 1776 In these flutes sowed the seed narrow-cast.
C2.
narrow axe n. U.S. an axe with a narrow head, used primarily for chopping; opposed to broad-axe n.
ΚΠ
1641 in J. H. Trumbull Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1850) I. 444 A broad axe, 2 narrow axes, wimbell & chessells.
1755 in S. M. Hamilton Lett. to Washington (1898) I. 136 Broadaxes are wanted, narrow axes I have been obligd to order some to be made.
1980 W. Renfroe tr. H. Delbruck Hist. Art War 53 The celts, which are found in stone, bronze and iron, have the shape of a narrow axe that is placed on the shaft not perpendicularly but in extension of the shaft.
narrow-cut adj. (a) Photography (of an optical filter) transmitting only a narrow band of wavelengths, or having a sharp boundary between transmitted and absorbed wavelengths; (b) (of clothing) tailored to fit close to the body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [adjective] > relating to types of filter
low-pass1917
high-pass1921
all-pass1930
narrow-cut1964
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [adjective] > filters
neutral-density1938
narrow-cut1964
1964 L. A. Mannheim tr. H. Clauss & H. Meusel Filter Pract. 63 (caption) Absorption curve of a deep red filter (narrow-cut type).
1976 C. Reynolds Photoguide to Filters 230 Sharp-cut or narrow-cut filters are those with an abrupt transition from transmission to absorption.
1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 15 July c1/1 An elderly European in a narrow-cut double-breasted business suit and virtually rimless glasses who never seemed even to loosen his tie.
1997 B. K. Issenman Sinews of Survival iv. 134 It is possible to discern some details of the clothing, in particular what appear to be narrow-cut bearskin trousers.
narrow dock n. U.S. any of several species of dock (genus Rumex), esp. yellow (or curled) dock, R. crispus.
ΚΠ
1785 M. Cutler in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 1 436 Rumex floribus hermaphroditis: valvulis dentatis nudis, pedicellis planis reflexis..Narrow Dock... The fresh roots bruised and made into an ointment, or decoction, cure the itch.
1805 M. Lewis & W. Clark Trav. Missouri (1815) II. xii. 2 The..sandrush, and narrow dock, are also common.
1878 Amer. Naturalist 12 742 The Polygonacæ present the common smart-weed, the knot-weed, man's ever-present comrade, and the narrow-dock.
1995 Country Living (Electronic ed.) Nov. The seeds of curled and narrow dock..rise like sorrel-colored exclamation marks along erect stems.
narrow front n. Military a formation assumed by troops advancing in column (and thus with a narrow front line: see quot. 1802); also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > column
narrow front1623
column1677
colonne1678
column of route1792
1623 J. Bingham tr. Xenophon Hist. 78 If we aduance in a large Front..if in a narrow Front.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Narrow Front, a battalion, &c. is said to assume a narrow front, when it goes from line into column.
1887 Dict. National Biogr. X. 333/2 The assault was made upon a narrow front, in woods which broke up the order of the troops.
1991 Science 8 Feb. 684/2 Fruton identifies a difference between leaders..who were liberal and encouraging toward independent research in their laboratories, and those like Liebig..who worked on a narrow front and were autocratic.
narrow house n. chiefly poetic the grave; cf. narrow cell n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > [noun]
buriels854
througheOE
burianOE
graveOE
lairc1000
lair-stowc1000
lich-restc1000
pitOE
grass-bedOE
buriness1175
earth housec1200
sepulchrec1200
tombc1300
lakec1320
buriala1325
monumenta1325
burying-place1382
resting placea1387
sepulturea1387
beda1400
earth-beda1400
longhousea1400
laystow1452
lying1480
delfa1500
worms' kitchen?a1500
bier1513
laystall1527
funeral?a1534
lay-bed1541
restall1557
cellarc1560
burying-grave1599
pit-hole1602
urn1607
cell1609
hearse1610
polyandrum1627
requietory1631
burial-place1633
mortuary1654
narrow cell1686
ground-sweat1699
sacred place1728
narrow house1792
plot1852
narrow bed1854
1792 A. F. Tytler tr. F. Schiller Robbers v. ii. 194 But he is gone!—He's in the narrow house! he sleeps the sleep of death!
1854 H. D. Thoreau Walden 53 One man says..take up a handful of the earth at your feet, and paint your house that color. Is he thinking of his last and narrow house?
1916 J. W. Riley Silent Victors in Compl. Wks. I. 127 Wreathe with laurel-words the icy brows..pillowed lowly in the narrow house.
2001 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. (Nexis) 20 Apr. 18 The confused awakening in the narrow house under ground..and the girl's final torture in the unyielding coffin.
† narrow land n. Obsolete rare one of the narrow strips into which open fields were formerly divided.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > [noun] > narrow strip of land
swathc1325
runrig1437
raina1450
selionc1450
rundale1474
quillet1533
rig length1616
plank1631
narrow land1640
rap1710
run-ridge1741
rean1781
slinget1790
slip1837
1640 Conveyance of Land, Lincolnshire (MS) Et vnam selionem terre (anglice one Narrow~land) in Scunthorpe.
narrow money n. Economics a measure of the amount of money available in an economic system, according to a narrow or restrictive definition of money (e.g. M0 or M1: see M n. 12): cf. broad adj. and n.1.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > types of economic system > amount available in economic system
narrow money1966
1966 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 74 63 A simple preliminary check for such errors..is to add the coefficients for narrow money to those for time deposits. They should sum to those obtained for the broad definition of money.
1981 Banker July 48/2 In this case it is the velocity of broad money eg M3, that is relevant, not narrow money.
1991 Financial Times 20 Mar. 24/3 Narrow money (M0) has been a reliable indicator of monetary conditions.
narrow-range adj. restricted in incidence or scope.
ΚΠ
1932 L. W. Faucett & K. 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.
1994 Nikkei Weekly (Nexis) 1 Aug. (Markets) 14 (heading) Narrow range forecast as players watch dollar.
narrow-sighted adj. having a narrow field of vision; (figurative) narrow-minded, blinkered.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > short-sighted
little-sighta1398
purblindc1450
narrow-sighted1593
thick-sighted1593
mope-eyed1606
short-sighteda1649
near-sighted1686
short-eyed1721
myopical1749
myopic1800
myoptic1849
myope1892
1593 R. Cosin Apol. for Sundrie Proc. (rev. ed.) i. xiv. 109 None of these quicke & narrow sighted fellowes (lately sprung vp) were to be found; that could see more then the reuerend Iudges.
1650 Mercurius Politicus No. 25 421 We that are narrow-sighted have various and different apprehensions of things according to the variety of Events.
a1753 G. Berkeley Serm. in Wks. (1871) IV. 601 We narrow-sighted mortals.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede III. vi. liv. 313 And if I were capable of that narrow-sighted joy in Adam's behalf, I should still know he was not the man to feel it for himself.
2001 Detroit News (Nexis) 27 July (Weekend section) 1 The ape's narrow-sighted general, played with terrifying conviction by Tim Roth.
narrow work n. Mining a narrow gallery driven into a seam, vein, etc.; a system of mining that makes use of such passages; cf. sense B. 2f.
ΚΠ
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 37 Narrow Work, excavations, 3 yards in width and under.
1874 J. H. Collins Princ. Metal Mining (1875) viii. 52 In deeper workings it is desirable..to lessen the proportions of ‘narrow work’, as the headings are called.
1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) viii Narrow work, driving roadways or rooms in coal.
C3. Compounds relating to sense A. 1c.
narrow cloth n. cloth under 52 inches (approx. 132 cm) wide.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > of specific size > other
straits1429
statute1466
narrow cloth1654
1654 T. Fauntleroy Lux in Tenebris 1 The large coats cut out of the States narrow cloth.
1696 J. F. Merchant's Ware-house 25 It is a coarse narrow Cloth which comes from Hamborough.
1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 74 The Wealthy Manufacture there of Kerseys, and narrow Cloaths.
1802 J. Woodforde Diary 1 Feb. (1931) V. 366 Paid Taylor Cary this Morning for a great Coat..of a brown-Drab narrow Cloth.
1957 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 17 220 By the first decade of the nineteenth century the yards of broad and narrow cloth produced in the West Riding averaged nearly three times as much as they had in the 1770's.
1985 Daily News Record (U.S.) (Nexis) 15 May 15 Woodside Mills will not..convert its production of acetate linings over to wider jet looms... ‘We are going to stay with the narrow cloth.’
narrow goods n. (in haberdashery) braid, ribbons, bindings, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > of specific size > narrow
narrow wares1643
narrow goods1747
1747 R. Campbell London Tradesman lix. 258 There are Engine-Looms for making some of those Narrow Goods.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Swivel-loom, a kind of loom (formerly) used for the weaving of tapes and narrow goods.
1910 Amer. Econ. Assoc. Q. 11 8 Sewing thread and machine twist have always lent themselves readily to American methods of manufacture... Plain ribbons and narrow goods have more recently come into the same class.
1991 Daily News Record (U.S.) (Nexis) 15 Nov. 9 The mill planning loom changes said the sale of narrow goods for first quarter on the wider machines showed a better return.
† narrow-trade n. Obsolete rare the trade in narrow goods.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > specific types of trade > [noun] > trade in specific textiles
frippery1599
woolage1611
mercership1647
(the) Mercery1662
rag trade1745
hosiery1789
grey market1825
narrow-trade1827
costumer1830
linendrapery1849
wool-stapling1888
broad trade-
1827 Ann. Reg. 1826 Hist. Europe 59/1 The narrow-trade or that which consisted in the manufacture of ribbands.
narrow wares n. now historical = narrow goods n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > of specific size > narrow
narrow wares1643
narrow goods1747
1643 in Archaeologia (1890) 52 135 A hosyer & whole saleman for narrow wares.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1519/1 Needle-loom, one in which the weft is carried by a needle instead of a shuttle. The usual form of loom for narrow wares, such as ribbons, tapes, bindings, etc.
1989 H. Kisch Domest. Manuf. to Industr. Revol. 131 The manufacture of fabrics was locally almost as important as the output of the traditional products—‘narrow wares’ and bleached yarn.
narrow weaver n. now historical a weaver of narrow cloth or goods.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > method of > weaving other types of fabric > one who
tapenera1400
line-weaver1415
linen-weaver1474
sayman1488
say weaver1565
silk-weaver1572
narrow weaver1594
say maker1611
linen-webster1642
broad-weaver-
1594 Inventory W. Simmes (Oxfordshire Rec. Office, Bd. I.190.19 (admon.); 173/2/9) A true Inventorie indented of all the goodes and cattells of William Symmes late of Burford..narrowe weaver.
1613 in W. H. Hall Cal. Wills & Admin. Lewes (1901) 164 Groombridge, Robt., Frant, narrowweaver.
1747 R. Campbell London Tradesman lix. 258 The Narrow Weavers are such as are employed in weaving Livery Laces.
1861 J. Ward Diary 12 Apr. in J. Burnett Useful Toil (1974) i. 79 There was a deal of grumbling among the narrow weavers because they have taken a farthing a cut too much off them.
1973 L. F. Salzman Victoria Hist. County of Sussex II. 257/2 These documents..mention..a broad-weaver at Salehurst (1594), and a narrow-weaver at Frant (1613).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

narrowv.

Brit. /ˈnarəʊ/, U.S. /ˈnɛroʊ/
Forms: Old English nearwian, Middle English narewe, Middle English narwe, Middle English nerewe, 1500s narow, 1600s– narrow; Scottish pre-1700 nairow, pre-1700 narov, pre-1700 1700s– narrow. N.E.D. (1906) also records a form Middle English narrow.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: narrow adj.
Etymology: < narrow adj.In Old English the prefixed form genearwian is also attested. Compare also Old English nierwan, genierwan to confine, repress, beset, rebuke.
1. intransitive. To become narrower, to decrease in width, breadth, or scope; to diminish, lessen, contract. Also with down.The sense in quot. OE1 is unclear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > become reduced in size or extent [verb (intransitive)]
narrowOE
waneOE
smallOE
slakec1380
welk1390
fade1398
lessenc1400
minish?a1425
decay1489
adminisha1500
diminish1520
to grow downwards?1523
ungrow1598
scant1607
settlea1642
to run off1765
dwarf1776
comminute1850
downsize1977
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > become narrow [verb (intransitive)]
narrowOE
straita1552
straiten1601
stripe1632
to neck down1931
OE Rhyming Poem 37 Sinc searwade, sib nearwade.
OE Genesis A (1931) 1570 Swiðe on slæpe sefa nearwode þæt he ne mihte on gemynd drepen hine handum self mid hrægle wryon and sceome þeccan.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 57 (MED) Þanne þe see..narweþ to þe narwenesse of sex hondred paas.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 4533 He..did mak a meruailous toure in Boloyne;..brode & þik þe gynnyng was, & euer it nerewes [a1450 Lamb. nareweþ], risand on heght.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xvi. 381 As ane schelde it narrowit ay.
a1525 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 156/27 Than [the sea] narovs till the narownes of vjc pas.
1746 in Acct. French Settlem. N. Amer. 20 Above that isle it narrows so, that before Quebec it is not above a mile wide.
1773 A. Grant Let. 20 May in Lett. from Mountains (1806) I. 124 The glen..instead of narrowing,..grows broader as it retires.
1821 Ld. Byron Two Foscari iii. i, in Sardanapalus 251 The time narrows, signor.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 56 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.
1934 H. Roth Call it Sleep i. v. 36 The eyes themselves, which were always so round and soft, had narrowed now.
1958 J. Wain Contenders vi. 113 Summer narrowed down into autumn, and suddenly one foggy morning in October, it happened.
1991 Economist 13 July 27/1 Britain's current-account deficit has narrowed sharply.
2.
a. transitive. To make narrower; to reduce the breadth of. In early use occasionally figurative or in figurative context: †to constrict, constrain, oppress (obsolete). Also with in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > reduce in size or extent [verb (transitive)]
thinc900
narroweOE
smalleOE
slakea1300
adminisha1325
minisha1382
reduce?c1400
diminish1417
littlea1500
extenuate1555
enstraiten1590
scantle1596
scant1599
bedwarfa1631
epitomize1630
dwarf1638
retrench1640
stunt1659
to take in1700
belittle1785
dwarfify1816
reduct1819
micrify1836
clip1858
downsize1977
the world > action or operation > adversity > suffer (adversity or affliction) [verb (transitive)] > afflict > oppress or afflict
heavyc897
narroweOE
overlayOE
overseamOE
twingea1300
to weigh downa1340
grieve1340
besit1377
oppressc1384
foila1400
thringa1400
empressc1400
enpressc1400
aska1425
press?a1425
peisea1450
straita1464
constraina1500
overhale1531
to grate on or upon1532
wrack1562
surcharge1592
to lie heavy uponc1595
to weigh back, on one side, to the earth1595
to sit on ——1607
to sit upon ——1607
gall1614
bear1645
weight1647
obsess1648
aggrieve1670
swinge1681
lean1736
gravitate1754
weigh1794
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > make narrow [verb (transitive)]
narrowa1400
strait1421
straiten1552
enstrait1581
angustate1615
nip1850
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. lvi. 278 Hu mon þa utyrnendan men scyle lacnian þam mon sceal sellan þa mettas þa ðe wambe nearwian.
OE Riddle 25 10 Feleþ sona mines gemotes, se[o] þe mec nearwað, wif wundenlocc.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xxxiv. 6 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 165 (MED) Þai be als dust ogain wind lickam, And louerdes aungel narwand [L. coarctans] þam.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iii. l. 134 A maner dyk..Narrowyt the way.
a1525 Coventry Leet Bk. 118 The meyre shuld go be all the brooke & se where hit is narowed, mysruled, or stopped.
1596 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 142 The said stair narrowis the gett.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 64 At the straits of Magellan, where the land is narrowed . View more context for this quotation
1768 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1885) XIII. 52 By encroachments said road is so narrowed that it is rendered almost useless.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 75 A northeast wind narrows the stream.
1861 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner vii. 77 She narrowed her lids slightly.
1885 J. W. Dawson Egypt & Syria ii. 39 It is just where the broad expanse of alluvium..is narrowed in by that great promontory.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 835 The sweat-pores were obviously narrowed by pressure.
1954 R. Sutcliff Eagle of Ninth i. 11 He narrowed his eyes into the piercing light.
1988 K. Amis Difficulties with Girls xiii. 187 ‘She's fine,’ said her husband, narrowing his eyes and nodding his head slowly.
b. transitive. To limit or restrict; to make less or smaller; to contract; to reduce.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)]
littleeOE
anitherOE
wanzelOE
lessc1225
slakea1300
littenc1300
aslakec1314
adminisha1325
allayc1330
settle1338
low1340
minisha1382
reprovea1382
abatea1398
rebatea1398
subtlea1398
alaskia1400
forlyten?a1400
imminish14..
lessenc1410
diminish1417
repress?a1425
assuagec1430
scarcec1440
small1440
underslakec1440
alessa1450
debate?c1450
batec1460
decreasec1470
appetisse1474
alow1494
mince1499
perswage?1504
remita1513
inless?1521
attenuate1530
weaken1530
defray1532
mitigate1532
minorate1534
narrow?1548
diminuec1550
extenuate1555
amain1578
exolve1578
base1581
dejecta1586
amoinder1588
faint1598
qualify1604
contract1605
to pull down1607
shrivel1609
to take down1610
disaugment1611
impoverish1611
shrink1628
decoct1629
persway1631
unflame1635
straiten1645
depress1647
reduce1649
detract1654
minuate1657
alloy1661
lower?1662
sinka1684
retreat1690
nip1785
to drive down1840
minify1866
to knock down1867
to damp down1869
scale1887
mute1891
clip1938
to roll back1942
to cut back1943
downscale1945
downrate1958
slim1963
downshift1972
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > restrict or limit [verb (transitive)]
thringc1250
circumscrivec1374
arta1382
bound1393
limita1398
restrainc1405
pincha1450
restringe1525
coarcta1529
circumscribe1529
restrict1535
conclude1548
narrow?1548
limitate1563
stint1567
chamber1568
contract1570
crampern1577
contain1578
finish1587
conscribe1588
pound1589
confine1597
border1608
circumcise1613
constrain1614
coarctate1624
butta1631
prescribe1688
pin1738
?1548 D. Lindsay Tragical Death Dauid Beaton sig. Cvij He would repent, That narrowed [1559 Narrowit] so his boundes, Of yerely ront, Three score Thousande poundes.
1674 Govt. Tongue 168 We see in all things how desuetude do's contract and narrow our faculties.
1706 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels III. 428 Subtle Glosses had narrowed the just extent of this Word.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 52 He has here pretty well narrowed the field of taxation.
1817 W. Selwyn Abridgem. 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. Philos. & Theol. (1866) 1st Ser. 91 It greatly narrows the ground of difference.
1893 R. S. Ball Story of Sun 282 This consideration narrows the search for the body.
1908 E. M. Forster Room with View xii. 197 You naturally seek out things Italian, and so do we and our friends. This narrows the field immeasurably.
1937 U. Ellis-Fermor Recent Res. Shakespeare's Imagery 18 We will narrow our examination strictly to those books which treat mainly or largely with our particular theme.
c. transitive. to narrow down: to reduce in scope or number; to reduce (a set of possibilities, choices, candidates, etc.) by progressively eliminating certain elements or groups of elements.
ΚΠ
1751 S. Richardson Clarissa (ed. 3) VIII. Coll. Sentiments 341 Love and Gratitude will not be narrow'd down to mere family-considerations.
1834 W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. II. viii. 95 The mind of a firm and courageous man..seems always to be narrowed down or concentrated to the direction of the lead in its passage from the pistol.
1868 Naval & Mil. Gaz. 29 Aug. 551/1 The number of systems from which the choice is likely to be made has been narrowed down to four.
1939 Flight 26 Oct. 335/1 A quickly estimated E.T.A., too, will narrow down the area of search if the next outstanding landmark fails to turn up.
1969 M. Puzo Godfather (1972) i. vi. 101 Clemenza finally narrowed down the list of candidates to three men.
2000 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 108 175 The essence of efficient search is the identification of clues that allow the universe of potential leads to be narrowed down.
†3. transitive. To drive or press (an opponent). Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. xvii. 252 Eager to distress and narrow the posts of the enemy. View more context for this quotation
1864 Ld. Tennyson Boadicea 39 Tho' the gathering enemy narrow thee.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

narrowadv.

Brit. /ˈnarəʊ/, U.S. /ˈnɛroʊ/
Forms: Old English nearwe, early Middle English nearew (southern), early Middle English nearowe (southern), early Middle English nearuwe (southern), early Middle English neruwe (southern), Middle English narewe, Middle English naroo, Middle English narow, Middle English naruȝ, Middle English narwe, Middle English norwe (transmission error), Middle English–1500s narowe, Middle English– narrow.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly formed within English, by derivation. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: narrow adj., English -e.
Etymology: Originally < narrow adj. + Old English -e, suffix forming adverbs; subsequently reinforced by conversion < narrow adj.
Now rare.
†1. Closely, tightly, strictly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > condition of being fast bound or firmly fixed > [adverb] > tightly or closely
narroweOE
straitc1200
straitly1338
sore1377
short1533
nearly1587
strictly1641
snug1674
chock1768
snugly1800
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adverb] > closely (of confinement)
narroweOE
strictly1609
closely1634
crampingly1891
eOE Metres of Boethius (partly from transcript of damaged MS) xxi. 5 Se ðe ðonne nu sie nearwe gehefted mid þisses mæran middangeardes unnyttre lufe.
OE Beowulf 976 Hyne sar hafað in nidgripe nearwe befongen.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 138 Ȝef þu wult þet ha drede þe, hald hire nearowe [a1250 Nero neruwe; a1300 Caius nearuwe].
c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 68 (MED) Þu art loþ al fuel kunne, & alle ho þe driueþ honne & þe bi schricheþ..& wel narewe þe biledet.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13483 Þer islaȝen weoren þreo hundred..and monie quike nomen & narwe heom ibunden.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 20500 Hii mihte..wende..in to More Britayne to helpe Arthur his mey, þat narewe was biþronge.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 16 (MED) The kyng was narow holden, his folk alle to dryuen.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 600 Love hadde..this man..so narwe bounden in his las.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 130 (MED) Com coll and his maroo, Thay will nyp vs full naroo.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 21 Narrower bound Within the visible Diurnal Spheare. View more context for this quotation]
†2. Carefully, keenly; with close attention, exactly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > care, carefulness, or attention > [adverb] > with scrupulous care or attention to detail
narrowlyeOE
narrowOE
wellOE
busilyc1225
inwardly?c1225
closely1509
nearly1540
near1560
searchingly1574
nicely1597
exactly1612
strictly1632
close1642
pressly1642
scrutinously1650
minutely1690
scrupulously1712
tightly1758
keenly1824
slippery1828
meticulously1961
OE Cynewulf Elene 1157 Þeodcwen ongan þurh gastes gife georne secan nearwe geneahhe, to hwan hio þa næglas selost ond deorlicost gedon meahte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13723 Heo..ræsen to-somne. and neouwe ueht bi-gunnen narewe iþrungen.
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 1745 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 157 (MED) Wel narewe þe king him gan bi-þenche to derne is luþere þouȝt.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5954 (MED) He biþoȝte him wel narwe ȝif þer miȝte be eny red.
c1395 G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale 1988 How excellent franchise In wommen is whan they hem narwe [v.rr. narowly, streitly, weel] avyse.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 1752 (MED) To Hector he marked haþ so narwe Þat he smote hym euene amyd þe face.
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 15264 (MED) Wel narwe sche hir be-thoght, How sche myght venge hir on that swayn.
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 2316 (MED) Flowen was that fals coward, Narowe hym sought Kynge Richarde.
1585 Arden of Feversham (1929) i. 135 Because my husband is so Jelious And these my narrow prying neighbours blab.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iii. iii. 19 Wee'll ouer-reach..The narrow prying father. View more context for this quotation
3.
†a. Narrowly in terms of scope, range, or amount; in an artful or unscrupulous manner; by a narrow margin. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [adverb]
narrowa1200
straitc1440
narrowly1847
the world > space > distance > nearness > [adverb] > nearly or closely
nighlyOE
nighc1387
throng?a1425
justc1440
narrowly1487
foot-hot1513
meeta1522
hardly1554
fastlings1568
nearly1569
neara1592
close1596
closely1634
nicely1690
narrow1697
snugly1800
snug1831
tight1888
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 213 (MED) Gif hit chepinge be þe me shule meten oðer weien, þe sullere doð narewere þane he sholde and te biggere rumluker þan he sholde.
c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 483 (MED) Bot wiþ a begger y-bilt ful narwe Þer he tok his herbarwe.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 371 Ȝif I ȝede to þe plow I pynched so narwe, Þat a fote londe or a forwe fecchen I wolde Of my nexte neighbore nymen of his erthe.
a1592 Pleugh-Song in St. Andrews Psalter 242 Wind about Braidie..Wynd narrow.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis v, in tr. Virgil Wks. 347 Mnestheus..miss'd the Dove. Yet miss'd so narrow, that he cut the Cord.
1762 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. ii. xiii. 247 If this kind of grass-ground is ploughed..shallow and narrow.
†b. to fall narrow: to fall short. to go narrow: (of a horse) to move with its legs too close together. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [verb (intransitive)] > keep legs wide apart or close together
to go narrow1646
straddle1685
stroddle1702
1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 116 [He] Ne're suffred, yet his little Arrow, Of Heavens high'st Arches to fall narrow.
1649 Impartiall Intelligencer No. 7. 55 A tall white Gray Gelding dappled, on the Buttock, with a Flea-bitten head, short cut Tayle, goeth narrow behind.
1697 London Gaz. No. 3289/4 Lost..a Bayish dun Horse about 15 hands,..goes narrow.
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II. (at cited word) 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.
1752 Pennsylvania Gaz. 13 Aug. A bay horse,..a star in his forehead, and a white snip on nose, his hind-feet white to the foot-lock joints, goes narrow behind.
c. Curling and Bowls. With reference to the delivery of a stone or ball: with insufficient force; along a line too close to the target to allow for the bias or curl. Cf. narrow adj. 6d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > bowls or bowling > [adverb] > manner of delivery
narrow1882
1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower II. xiii. 189 ‘I am not skilful,’ she said, ‘I always bowl narrow.’
1999 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 1 Mar. s1/2 There was..one more team standing in the way of one of curling's biggest comebacks... She threw her attempted double takeout narrow and appeared to be heading for a miss.
2002 Media Guide (U.S. Curling Assoc.) 4 Sweeping is called for when the stone has not been delivered firmly enough, and/or when the shot is aimed ‘narrow’, or inside the broom target.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.eOEv.eOEadv.eOE
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