also narrowminded, "bigoted, illiberal, of confined views or sentiments," 1620s, from narrow (adj.) + -minded. Related: Narrow-mindedness. Middle English had narrow-hearted "mean, ungenerous, ignoble" (c. 1200).

Old English nearolice "with little breadth or extent, closely; strictly; carefully;" see narrow (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "only by a little, by a small distance" is attested from 1550s.

"quality or condition of being narrow," Middle English narwenesse, from Old English nearuness "narrowness" also "constraint, distress;" see narrow (adj.) + -ness.

"narrow channel of water" in a river, etc., 1630s, plural of narrow (n.). Meaning "narrow passage through a mountain" is from 1716.

"porch at the west end of early churches," the end furthest from the sanctuary (used by penitents not admitted to the body of the church), 1670s, from Late Greek narthex, in classical Greek "giant fennel," a word of unknown origin, perhaps Pre-Greek. The architectural feature allegedly was so called from the fancied resemblance of the porch to a hollow stem. The word also was used in Greek to mean "a small case for unguents, etc." According to Hesiod ("Theogeny"), Prometheus conveyed fire from Heaven to Earth in hollow fennel stalks. Related: Narthecal.

"sea-unicorn, dolphin-like Arctic sea mammal" (one of the teeth of the male is enormously developed into a straight spirally fluted tusk), 1650s, from Danish and Norwegian narhval, probably a metathesis of Old Norse nahvalr, literally "corpse-whale," from na "corpse" (see need (n.)) + hvalr "whale" (see whale). If this is right, it likely was so called from its whitish color, resembling that of dead bodies. But according to nature writer Barry Lopez ("Arctic Dreams"), Winfred P. Lehmann, professor of Germanic linguistics, suggested the name was folk-etymology and said nahvalr was a West Norse term meaning "whale distinguished by a long, narrow projection."

1746, alteration of ne'er a, short for never a. Thus nary a is pleonastic.

early 15c., nasale, "of or pertaining to the nose or nostrils," from Medieval Latin, from Latin nasus "nose, the nose, sense of smell," from PIE root *nas- "nose."

Of speech sounds, "uttered with resonance in the nose," attested from 1660s. As a noun, "letter or sound uttered through or partly through the nose," from 1660s. Earlier noun senses were "medicinal fluid for the nose" (early 15c.) and "part of a helmet which protects the nose and adjacent parts" (nasel, c. 1300). Related: Nasalization.

"state or quality of being nasal," 1776, from nasal + -ity.