Narrow
Old English nearu, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch naar ‘dismal, unpleasant’ and German Narbe ‘scar’. Early senses in English included ‘constricted’ and ‘mean’.
wiktionary
From Middle English narow, narowe, narewe, narwe, naru, from Old English nearu(“narrow, strait, confined, constricted, not spacious, limited, petty; limited, poor, restricted; oppressive, causing anxiety (of that which restricts free action of body or mind), causing or accompanied by difficulty, hardship, oppressive; oppressed, not having free action; strict, severe”), from Proto-Germanic *narwaz(“constricted, narrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ner-(“to turn, bend, twist, constrict”). Cognate with Scots naro, narow, narrow(“narrow”), North Frisian naar, noar, noor(“narrow”), Saterland Frisian noar(“bleak, dismal, meager, ghastly, unwell”), Saterland Frisian Naarwe(“scar”), West Frisian near(“narrow”), Dutch naar(“dismal, bleak, ill, sick”), Low German naar(“dismal, ghastly”), German Narbe(“scar”), Norwegian norve(“a clip, staple”), Icelandicnjörva-(“narrow-”, in compounds).
From Middle English narwen(“to narrow”); see there for more details, but ultimately derived from the noun.
etymonline
narrow (adj.)
Middle English narwe, from Old English nearu "of little width, not wide or broad; constricted, limited; petty; causing difficulty, oppressive; strict, severe," from West Germanic *narwaz "narrowness" (source also of Frisian nar, Old Saxon naru, Middle Dutch nare, Dutch naar) which is not found in other Germanic languages and is of unknown origin.
In reference to railroads, narrow-gauge (also narrow-gage) is by 1841, originally of those less than the standard of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. The narrow seas (mid-15c.) were the waters between Great Britain and the continent and Ireland, but specifically the Strait of Dover.
narrow (v.)
Middle English narwen, from narrow (adj.) and in part from Old English nearwian "to force in, cramp, confine; become smaller, shrink." Related: Narrowed; narrowing.
narrow (n.)
c. 1200, nearewe "narrow part, place, or thing," from narrow (adj.). Old English nearu (n.) meant "danger, distress, difficulty," also "prison, hiding place."
