nerve
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /nɝv/
ipa: /nɜːv/
ipa: /nɜɪv/
ipa: /nɛɾv/
rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v
Forms: form: nerves
Etymology: Recorded since circa 1374 as Middle English nerve, from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”). Doublet of neuron and sinew.
Verb sense 4 is chiefly a semantic loan from German nerven.
Senses: examples: text: The nerves can be seen through the skin.
text: Like her I go; I cannot stay;
⁠I leave this mortal ark behind,
A weight of nerves without a mind,
And leave the cliffs, and haste away […]
ref: 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.
glosses: A neuron.
examples: text: Some plants have ornamental value because of their contrasting nerves.
topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
glosses: A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood.
examples: text: He had the nerve to enter my house uninvited.
text: He hasn't the nerve to tell her he likes her.
text: “Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.”
ref: 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
text: You got a lot of nerve / To say you are my friend / When I was down / You just stood there grinning
ref: 1965, Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street”:
text: A trip to the whistling, fire-cracking Stadio San Paolo is always a test of nerve but Wenger's men have already outplayed the Italians once.
ref: 2013 November 26, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
text: Southgate's side kept their nerve and discipline in the unsettling, intimidating surroundings of Budapest, with the behaviour of Hungary's fans leaving much to be desired, to turn up the heat and punish their opponents ruthlessly once they had gone ahead.
ref: 2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC:
synonyms: word: brashness
word: brazenness
word: balls
word: audacity
word: balls
word: bield
word: boldhead
word: boldness
word: bravehood
word: braveness
word: bravery
word: courage
word: courageousness
word: daring
word: fearlessness
word: grit
word: guts
word: heart
word: intrepidity
word: intrepidness
word: mood
word: nerve
word: ovaries
raw_tags: for women
word: pecker
word: pluck
word: spunk
word: steel
word: undauntedness
word: valour
glosses: Courage; boldness; audacity; gall.
examples: text: The web-team found git-sed is really a time and nerve saver when doing mass changes on your repositories
text: He led me on to mightiest deeds, / Above the nerve of mortal arm.
ref: 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, pages 42–43, lines 639–640:
glosses: Patience; stamina; endurance, fortitude.
examples: text: All these rationalizations for asinine behavior are getting on my nerves.
text: His nerves could no longer handle the worry.
glosses: One's neural structures considered collectively as, and conceptually equated with, one's psyche.
examples: text: Ellie had a bad case of nerves before the big test; she was a bundle of nerves.
text: Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me
ref: 1997, Harvey Danger, “Flagpole Sitta”, in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?:
glosses: Mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions.
examples: text: The nerviness (ability to recover quickly from strain or stretching) ... generally requires it to be broken down or masticated on the mill before the other compounding ingredients are added. In the break-down operation, heat is inherently generated by the sheer action of the milling or mixing equipment on the polymer. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the desired low temperatures during the milling or mixing... An object of this invention is to reduce the inherent nerve of ... polymers ... during break-down.
ref: 1959, Newell A Perry, Eric O Ridgway, US patent US2870103 Ahttps://www.google.com/patents/US2870103
qualifier: polymer technology
glosses: The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing.
examples: text: Come on; obey: / Thy nerves are in their infancy again, / And have no vigour in them.
ref: 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
text: Whilst thus their fury rages at the bay,
 My sword our cables cut, I call'd to weigh,
And charg'd my men, as they from fate would fly,
Each nerve to strain, each bending oar to ply.
ref: 1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
glosses: Sinew, tendon.
Synonyms: word: nerve
Hyponyms: word: cranial nerve
Meronyms: word: neuron
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: abducens nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: abducent nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: abnerval
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: accessory nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: acoustic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: alveolar nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: auditory nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: auriculotemporal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: binervate
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: buccal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: bundle of nerves
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: cavernous nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: cervical nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ciliary nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: cochlear nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: deep petrosal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: deep temporal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: denervate
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: denervated
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: eighth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: eighth nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: eleventh cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: facial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: fifth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: fifth nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: first cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: fourth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: freshman's nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: frontal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: get on somebody's nerves
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: get on one's nerves
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: get on someone's last nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: glossopalatine nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: glossopharyngeal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: greater occipital nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: greater petrosal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: hit a nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: hit a raw nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: hold one's nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: hypoglossal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: inferior alveolar nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: inferior laryngeal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: infraorbital nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: innervate
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: innerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: intermediate nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ischiatic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: Jacobson nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: keep one's nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lacrimal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: laryngeal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lateral pectoral nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lateral pterygoid nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lesser occipital nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lesser petrosal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lingual nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: long ciliary nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: lose one's nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: mandibular nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: masseteric nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: maxillary nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: medial pterygoid nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: median nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: mental nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: midnerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: motor nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: musculospiral nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nasal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nasociliary nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nasopalatine nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerval
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervate
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervation
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve agent
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve cell
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve center
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve centre
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve cord
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve ending
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve fiber
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve fibre
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve gas
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve growth factor
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve impulse
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-jangling
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerveless
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervelet
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervelike
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve net
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve of the pterygoid canal
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve of Wrisberg
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve out
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-rack
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve rack
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-racked
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-racking
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-rackingly
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-shredder
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-shredding
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerves of steel
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve trunk
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve up
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerveway
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve wrack
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-wrack
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-wracked
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-wracking
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nerve-wreck
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervimotion
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervi-
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervo-
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervish
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervule
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: nervy
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ninth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: occipital nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: oculomotor nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: olfactory nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ophthalmic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: optic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: outnerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: palatine nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: pathetic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: petrosal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: phrenic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: pneumogastric nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: pterygoid nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: radial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: raw nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: recurrent laryngeal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: renervate
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: renervation
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: renerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: saphenous nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: sciatic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: second cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: seventh cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: short ciliary nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: sixth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: spinal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: strain every nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: strike a nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: superior alveolar nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: superior laryngeal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: supraclavicular nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: supraorbital nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: supratrochlear nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: sural nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: tenth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: the nerve of
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: third cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: touch a nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: touch a raw nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: trigeminal nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: trochlear nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: twelfth cranial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: tympanic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ulnar nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: unnerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: unnerved
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: vagus nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: ventral nerve cord
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: vestibular nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: vestibulocochlear nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: Vidian nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: wandering nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: war of nerves
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: Wrisberg's nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: zygomatic nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: zygomaticofacial nerve
sense: Terms derived from the noun nerve
word: zygomaticotemporal nerve
Related terms: enervate
nervous
nervure
neuron