narrow English · revision 5474

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 888|origins=gmw-pro *narwu}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈnær.əʊ/, US /ˈner.oʊ/, /ˈnær.oʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|narwe]], [[inh|ang|nearu|t=narrow, constricted, oppressive]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gmw-pro|*narwu]],^(Etymonline) also the source of Old Saxon naru and Dutch naar “dismal”.^(Etymonline)^(NODE 1998) It is of unknown origin and has no certain cognates outside West Germanic,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) though Barnhart and MWU compare German Narbe “scar” and Old Norse snæri “twisted rope”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The verb is partly from Old English nearwian “to confine, become smaller” and partly a new formation from the adjective.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Having little width compared with length: about 893 in the OED, and limited in size from about 888.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English nearu could also mean petty, oppressive and strict.^(Etymonline) The noun nearu meant “danger, distress” and also “prison”;^(Etymonline) the noun “a narrow part or place”, as in ''the Narrows'', is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Mean or parsimonious, now dialectal, and strict or close are from the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986) Limited in range or scope is from 1523,^(OED 1989) and lacking breadth of view, ''narrow-minded'', from the 17th century.^(Hoad 1986) ''The narrow seas'', between Britain and the Continent, are from the mid-15th century,^(Etymonline) and ''narrow-gauge'' railways from 1841.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 888 – small, limited.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 893 – of little width.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – the noun, a narrow place.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1523 – limited in scope.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1841 – ''narrow-gauge''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Small in width compared with [[length]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Limited in range or extent.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Only just achieved: ''a narrow escape''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Not willing to accept other ideas or opinions.^(Collins 2023)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To become or make narrower.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To limit or restrict: ''narrow the search''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(narrows)'' A narrow part of a river or strait.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[narrowish]]

+ * [[narrowly]]

+ * [[narrowness]]

+ * [[overnarrow]]

+ * [[unnarrow]]

+ * [[narrow-fisted]]

+ * [[narrowband]]

+ * [[narrowcast]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[narrow-minded]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}