From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Narrow \Nar"row\ (n[a^]r"r[-o]), adjective [Compar. {Narrower} (n[a^]r"r[-o]*[~e]r); superl. {Narrowest}.] [OE. narwe, naru, AS. nearu; akin to OS. naru, naro.]
1. Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.
Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas. --Shak.
2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world. --Bp. Wilkins.
3. Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near[5]; -- with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow miss; a narrow majority. --Dryden.
4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.
5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views. ''A narrow understanding.'' --Macaulay.
6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
A very narrow and stinted charity. --Smalridge.
7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied. --Milton.
8. (Phon.) Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; -- distinguished from wide; as [=e] ([=e]ve) and [=oo] (f[=oo]d), etc., from [i^] ([i^]ll) and [oo^] (f[oo^]t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]13.
Note: Narrow is not unfrequently prefixed to words, especially to participles and adjectives, forming compounds of obvious signification; as, narrow-bordered, narrow-brimmed, narrow-breasted, narrow-edged, narrow-faced, narrow-headed, narrow-leaved, narrow-pointed, narrow-souled, narrow-sphered, etc.
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