Narratory Nar"ra·to·ry adjective Giving an account of events; narrative; as, narratory letters. Howell.

Narre Narre adjective Nearer. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Narrow Nar"row adjective [ Compar. Narrower ; superl. Narrowest .] [ Middle English narwe , naru , Anglo-Saxon nearu ; akin to Old Saxon 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; -- with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; 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 ē (ēve) and ō (fōd), etc., from ĭ (ĭll) and o (fot), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation , § 13.

» 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.

Narrow gauge . (Railroad) See Note under Gauge , noun , 6.

Narrow Nar"row noun ; plural Narrows 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.

Near the island lay on one side the jaws of a dangerous
narrow .

Gladstone.

Narrow Nar"row transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Narrowed ; present participle & verbal noun Narrowing .] [ Anglo-Saxon nearwian .] 1. To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of. Sir W. Temple.

2. 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.

Our knowledge is much more narrowed if we confine ourselves to our own solitary reasonings.

I. Watts.

3. (Knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

Narrow Nar"row intransitive verb 1. To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait.

2. (Man.) Not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows . Farrier's Dict.

3. (Knitting) To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.

Narrow-minded Nar"row-mind`ed adjective Of narrow mental scope; illiberal; mean. -- Nar"row- mind`ed*ness , noun

Narrower Nar"row·er noun One who, or that which, narrows or contracts. Hannah More.

Narrowing Nar"row·ing noun 1. The act of contracting, or of making or becoming less in breadth or extent.

2. The part of a stocking which is narrowed.

Narrowly Nar"row·ly adverb [ Anglo-Saxon nearulice .] 1. With little breadth; in a narrow manner.

2. Without much extent; contractedly.

3. With minute scrutiny; closely; as, to look or watch narrowly ; to search narrowly .

4. With a little margin or space; by a small distance; hence, closely; hardly; barely; only just; -- often with reference to an avoided danger or misfortune; as, he narrowly escaped.

5. Sparingly; parsimoniously.

Narrowness Nar"row·ness noun [ Anglo-Saxon nearunes .] The condition or quality of being narrow.

Nart Nart [ For ne art .] Art not. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Narthex Nar"thex noun [ Latin , giant fennel, Greek ....] 1. (Botany) A tall umbelliferous plant ( Ferula communis ). See Giant fennel , under Fennel .

2. (Architecture) The portico in front of ancient churches; sometimes, the atrium or outer court surrounded by ambulatories; -- used, generally, for any vestibule, lobby, or outer porch, leading to the nave of a church.

Narwal Nar"wal noun (Zoology) See Narwhal .

Narwe Nar"we adjective Narrow. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Narwhal Nar"whal noun [ Swedish or Danish narvhal ; akin to Icelandic nāhvalr , and English whale . the first syllable is perhaps from Icelandic nār corpse, dead body, in allusion to the whitish color its skin. See Whale .] [ Written also narwhale .] (Zoology) An arctic cetacean ( Monodon monocerous ), about twenty feet long. The male usually has one long, twisted, pointed canine tooth, or tusk projecting forward from the upper jaw like a horn, whence it is called also sea unicorn , unicorn fish , and unicorn whale . Sometimes two horns are developed, side by side.

Nas Nas (näz). [ For ne was .] Was not. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Nas Nas [ Contr. from ne has .] Has not. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Nasal Na"sal (nā"z a l) adjective [ French, from Latin nasus the nose. See Nose .] 1. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the nose.

2. (Phon.) Having a quality imparted by means of the nose; and specifically, made by lowering the soft palate, in some cases with closure of the oral passage, the voice thus issuing (wholly or partially) through the nose, as in the consonants m , n , ng (see Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 20, 208); characterized by resonance in the nasal passage; as, a nasal vowel; a nasal utterance.

Nasal bones (Anat.) , two bones of the skull, in front of the frontals. -- Nasal index (Anat.) , in the skull, the ratio of the transverse the base of the aperture to the nasion, which latter distance is taken as the standard, equal to 100.

Nasal Na"sal noun 1. An elementary sound which is uttered through the nose, or through both the nose and the mouth simultaneously.

2. (Medicine) A medicine that operates through the nose; an errhine. [ Archaic]

3. (Anc. Armor) Part of a helmet projecting to protect the nose; a nose guard.

4. (Anat.) One of the nasal bones.

5. (Zoology) A plate, or scale, on the nose of a fish, etc.

Nasality Na·sal"i·ty noun [ Confer French nasalité .] The quality or state of being nasal.

Nasalization Na`sal·i·za"tion noun The act of nasalizing, or the state of being nasalized.

Nasalize Na"sal·ize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Nasalized ; present participle & verbal noun Nasalizing .] To render nasal, as sound; to insert a nasal or sound in.

Nasalize Na"sal·ize transitive verb To utter words or letters with a nasal sound; to speak through the nose.

Nasally Na"sal·ly adverb In a nasal manner; by the nose.

Nascal Nas"cal noun [ French nascale .] (Medicine) A kind of pessary of medicated wool or cotton, formerly used.

Nascency Nas"cen·cy noun [ Latin nascentia . See Nascent .] State of being nascent; birth; beginning; origin.

Nascent Nas"cent adjective [ Latin nascens , -entis , present participle nasci to be born. See Nation , and confer Naissant .] 1. Commencing, or in process of development; beginning to exist or to grow; coming into being; as, a nascent germ.

Nascent passions and anxieties.

Berkley.

2. (Chemistry) Evolving; being evolved or produced.

Nascent state (Chemistry) , the supposed instantaneous or momentary state of an uncombined atom or radical just separated from one compound acid, and not yet united with another, -- a hypothetical condition implying peculiarly active chemical properties; as, hydrogen in the nascent state is a strong reducer.

Naseberry Nase"ber`ry noun [ Spanish nispero medlar and naseberry tree, from Latin mespilus . See Medlar .] (Botany) A tropical fruit. See Sapodilla . [ Written also nisberry .]

Nash Nash adjective [ Etymol. uncertain.] Firm; stiff; hard; also, chilly. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Nasicornous Nas`i·cor"nous adjective [ Latin nasus nose + cornu horn: confer French nasicorne .] (Zoology) Bearing a horn, or horns, on the nose, as the rhinoceros.

Nasiform Nas"i·form adjective [ Latin nasus nose + -form . See Nose , and confer Nariform .] Having the shape of a nose.

Nasion Na·si·on noun [ New Latin , from Latin nasus nose.] (Anat.) The middle point of the nasofrontal suture.

Naso- Na"so- [ Latin nasus nose.] (Anat.) A combining form denoting pertaining to , or connected with , the nose ; as, naso frontal.

Nasobuccal Na"so·buc"cal adjective [ Naso + buccal .] (Anat.) Connected with both the nose and the mouth; as, the nasobuccal groove in the skate.

Nasofrontal Na`so·fron"tal adjective [ Naso- + frontal .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the nose and the front of the head; as, the embryonic nasofrontal process which forms the anterior boundary of the mouth.

Nasolachrymal Na`so·lach"ry·mal adjective [ Naso- + lachrymal .] (Anat.) Connected with the lachrymal apparatus and the nose; as, the nasolachrymal , or lachrymal duct.

Nasopalatal, Nasopalatine Na`so·pal"a·tal, Na`so·pal"a·tine adjective [ Naso- + palatal .] (Anat.) Connected with both the nose and the palate; as, the nasopalatine or incisor, canal connecting the mouth and the nasal chamber in some animals; the nasopalatine nerve.

Nasopharyngeal Na`so·phar`yn·ge"al adjective [ Naso- + pharyngeal .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to both throat and nose; as, a nasopharyngeal polypus.

Nasoseptal Na`so·sep"tal adjective [ Naso- + septal .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the internasal septum.

Nasoturbinal Na`so·tur"bi·nal adjective [ Naso- + turbinal .] (Anat.) Connected with, or near, both the turbinal and the nasal bones; as, the nasalturbinal bone, made up of the uppermost lammelæ of the ethmoturbinal, and sometimes united with the nasal. -- noun The nasoturbinal bone.

Nassa Nas"sa noun ; plural English Nassas , Latin NassÆ . [ From Latin nassa a kind of basket, in allusion to the reticulation of some species.] (Zoology) Any species of marine gastropods, of the genera Nassa , Tritia , and other allied genera of the family Nassidæ ; a dog whelk. See Illust. under Gastropoda .

-- nas"soid adjective

Nastily Nas"ti·ly adverb In a nasty manner.

Nastiness Nas"ti·ness noun The quality or state of being nasty; extreme filthness; dirtiness; also, indecency; obscenity.

The nastiness of Plautus and Aristophanes.

Dryden.

Nasturtion Nas·tur"tion noun [ See Nasturtium .] (Botany) Same as Nasturtium .

Nasturtium Nas·tur"tium noun [ Latin nasturtium , for nasitortium , from nasus nose + torquere , tortum , to twist, torture, in allusion to the causing one to make a wry face by its pungent taste. See Nose of the face, and Torture .] 1. (Botany) A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste.

2. (Botany) Any plant of the genus Tropæolum , geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress ( Tropæolum majus ), the canary-bird flower ( T. peregrinum ), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads.

Nasty Nas"ty adjective [ Compar. Nastier ; superl. Nastiest .] [ For older nasky ; confer dial. Swedish naskug , nasket .] 1. Offensively filthy; very dirty, foul, or defiled; disgusting; nauseous.

2. Hence, loosely: Offensive; disagreeable; unpropitious; wet; drizzling; as, a nasty rain, day, sky.

3. Characterized by obscenity; indecent; indelicate; gross; filthy.

Syn. -- Nasty , Filthy , Foul , Dirty . Anything nasty is usually wet or damp as well as filthy or dirty, and disgusts by its stickiness or odor; but filthy and foul imply that a thing is filled or covered with offensive matter, while dirty describes it as defiled or sullied with dirt of any kind; as, filthy clothing, foul vapors, etc.

Nasute Na"sute adjective [ Latin nasutus , from nasus the nose.] 1. Having a nice sense of smell. [ Obsolete] Evelyn.

2. Critically nice; captious. [ Obsolete] auden.

Nasutness Na"sut·ness noun Quickness of scent; hence, nice discernment; acuteness. [ Obsolete] Dr. H. More.

Nat Nat adverb Not. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

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