- Narrow gauge
- Narrow Nar"row (n[a^]r"r[-o]), a. [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.
[1913 Webster]
Hath passed in safety through the narrow seas. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
2. Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed. [1913 Webster]
The Jews were but a small nation, and confined to a narrow compass in the world. --Bp. Wilkins. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
4. Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances. [1913 Webster]
5. Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views. ``A narrow understanding.'' --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
6. Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish. [1913 Webster]
A very narrow and stinted charity. --Smalridge. [1913 Webster]
7. Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact. [1913 Webster]
But first with narrow search I must walk round This garden, and no corner leave unspied. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]
{Narrow gauge}. (Railroad) See Note under {Gauge}, n., 6. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
