Narrow
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(1): ( v. t.) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.
(2): ( n.) A narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; - usually in the plural; as, The Narrows of New York harbor.
(3): ( superl.) 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 (eve) and / (f/d), etc., from i (ill) and / (f/t), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, / 13.
(4): ( superl.) Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.
(5): ( v. t.) To contract the reach or sphere of; to make less liberal or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to narrow one's views or knowledge; to narrow a question in discussion.
(6): ( v. t.) To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of.
(7): ( superl.) Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.
(8): ( superl.) Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near; - with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow majority.
(9): ( superl.) Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.
(10): ( superl.) Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.
(11): ( v. i.) Not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows.
(12): ( v. i.) To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.
(13): ( superl.) Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.
(14): ( superl.) Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views.
(15): ( v. i.) To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait.
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words [2]
from a root sten---, seen in stenazo, "to groan," stenagmos, "groaning" (Eng., "stenography," lit., "narrow writing"), is used figuratively in Matthew 7:13,14 , of the gate which provides the entrance to eternal life, "narrow" because it runs counter to natural inclinations, and "the way" is similarly characterized; so in Luke 13:24 (where the more intensive word agonizomai, "strive," is used); RV, "narrow" (AV, "strait") in each place. Cp. stenochoreo, "to be straitened," and stenochoria, "narrowness, anguish, distress."
"to press," is translated "narrow" in Matthew 7:14 , AV, lit., "narrowed" (RV, "straitened;" the verb is in the perfect participle, Passive Voice), i.e., hemmed in, like a mountain gorge; the way is rendered "narrow" by the Divine conditions, which make it impossible for any to enter who think the entrance depends upon self-merit, or who still incline towards sin, or desire to continue in evil. See Afflict , No. 4.
King James Dictionary [3]
Narrow a. I suspect this word and near to be contracted by the loss of g, nig, narrow, strait nigiaw, to narrow for the D. has naauw, narrow, close, G. with a prefix. In this case, the word belongs to the root of nigh to approach.
1. Of little breadth not wide or broad having little distance from side to side as a narrow board a narrow street a narrow sea a narrow hem or border. It is only or chiefly applied to the surface of flat or level bodies. 2. Of little extent very limited as a narrow space or compass. 3. Covetous not liberal or bountiful as a narrow heart. 4. Contracted of confined views or sentiments very limited.
The greatest understanding is narrow.
In this sense and the former, it is often prefixed to mind or soul, & 100: as narrow-minded narrow-souled narrow-hearted.
5. Near within a small distance. 6. Close near accurate scrutinizing as a narrow search narrow inspection. 7. Near barely sufficient to avoid evil as a narrow escape.
NARROW, n. A strait a narrow passage through a mountain, or a narrow channel of water between one sea or lake and another a sound. It is usually in the plural, but sometimes in the singular.
