An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Narbe

by Friedrich Kluge

Narbe, f. (apparently hardly known in UpG.), ‘scar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. narwe, late OHG. narwa, f., lit. ‘narrowness, contraction’; a fem. subst. from the adj. narwa- (OSax. naru, AS. nearu, E. narrow), ‘narrow’ (comp. Nehrung). Comp. in the non-Teut. languages, Lith. nèr-ti, ‘to thread (a needle),’ narvà, ‘cell of the queen-bee.’