nervous
Part of speech: adj
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: biology
botany
natural-sciences
Etymology: From Middle English nervous (“composed of or incorporating nerves”), from Latin nervōsus (“nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous”), from nervus (“nerve; muscle; sinew, tendon; (figuratively) energy, power; nerve; force, strength, vigour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives from nouns). The English word is analysable as nerve + -ous.
Base: nerve
Affixes: -ous
Inflected forms:
form: more nervous
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: nervouser
pos: adj
tags: comparative
nonstandard
form: most nervous
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: nervousest
pos: adj
tags: nonstandard
superlative
Senses:
gloss: Of sinews and tendons.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
gloss: Of sinews and tendons.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: [T]here is nothing in marble equal to the Venus of Medici, for ſoftneſs and tenderneſs; as there is nothing ſo ſtrong and nervous, as the Hercules Farneſe.
gloss: Of sinews and tendons.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: Fortescutus illustratus, or a commentary on that nervous treatise De Laudibus Legum Angliæ […] [book title]
Nervous, clear, and striking, was almost all that he uttered […].
gloss: Of nerves.
pos: adj
gloss: Of nerves.
pos: adj
examples: All Nervous Diſtempers whatſoever, from Yawning and Stretching, up to a mortal Fit of an Apoplexy, ſeems to me to be but one continued Diſorder, or the ſeveral Steps or Degrees of it, ariſing from a Relaxation or Weakneſs, and the want of a ſufficient Force and Elaſticity in the Solids in general, and the Nerves in particular, in Proportion to the Reſiſtance of the Fluids, in order to carry on the Circulation, remove Obſtructions, carry off the Recrements, and make the Secretions.
Elizabeth Moſs, a girl of about 15 years of age, was attacked, in December, 1773, with a ſlow nervous fever, during the courſe of which ſhe had very little ſleep; […]
However, concern regarding potential morbidity from biopsy of a central nervous system lesion makes it rare to have a pathologic specimen available for clinical diagnosis.
gloss: Of nerves.
pos: adj
tags: obsolete
examples: CANNACORUS, […] It hath a knobbed tuberoſe Root: The Leaves are long and nervous: […]
gloss: Of nerves.
pos: adj
examples: Being in a crowd of strangers makes me nervous.
I can only assure you here that there is such a thing as a nervous child; whose nervous system is unstable; who is easily upset; whose pulse is apt to "run away" at any excitement; who blushes and pales and sweats easily; who tires easily; and who may be subject to headache and eye strain.
gloss: Of nerves.
pos: adj
examples: They were looking at the table (which was spread out in great array); for these young housekeepers are always nervous on such points, and like to see that everything is right.
Various harbours fit to receive settlers are now enumerated by the author; and as for the cold, of which some, through report, entertained a nervous dread, he invites his readers to reflect on "the great colde that is at times in Muſcouia, Sweidon, Norway, Spruceland, Poland, Denmarke, and other Eaſterne and Northerne parts of the world, where the people liue well and grow rich;" […]
"My baby is a perfect bundle of nerves," said one mother to another. "She is so sensitive, she starts at the slightest sound. She sleeps only a few minutes at a time, and has to be walked or rocked to get her off again. She won't go to strangers, and I am a nervous wreck taking care of her."
Synonyms: angstful
apprehensive
anxious
careful
concerned
distraught
disturbed
edgy
fraught
freaked out
hagridden
high-strung
jittery
jumpy
leery
nervous
nervy
on edge
perturbable
restless
skittish
spookish
squeamish
tied in knots
twitchy
uneasy
unquiet
verklempt
worried
worrisome
worryful
Antonyms: calm
intrepid
unperturbed
unworried
Related words: nervosity
fantod (medical term)
nervous nelly
nervous hit
nail biter
have butterflies in one's stomach
get cold feet
sweat bullets
afraid
cautious
excited
Derived words: as nervous as a witch
autonomic nervous system
central nervous system
electronervous
enteric nervous system
internervous
nervcited
nervicited
nervited
nervous as a cat
nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs
nervous as a whore in church
nervous breakdown
nervous energy
nervous hit
nervously
nervous-Nellie
nervous nellie
nervous-nellie
nervous Nellie
nervous nelly
nervous-Nelly
nervous-nelly
nervous Nelly
nervousness
nervous nineties
nervous pudding
nervous Purvis
nervous tissue
nervous wreck
nonnervous
overnervous
parasympathetic nervous system
perinervous
peripheral nervous system
seminervous
somatic nervous system
sympathetic nervous system
unnervous
vasculonervous
vegetative nervous system
Translations:
lang: Armenian
word: նյարդային
roman: nyardayin
lang: Asturian
word: nerviosu
lang: Bulgarian
word: не́рвен
roman: nérven
lang: Bulgarian
word: на нервите
roman: na nervite
lang: Catalan
word: nerviós
lang: Czech
word: nervový
lang: Danish
word: nerve-
lang: Esperanto
word: nerva
lang: Finnish
word: hermo-
lang: French
word: nerveux
lang: Galician
word: nervioso
lang: Hindi
word: तंत्रिकीय
roman: tantrikīya
lang: Hungarian
word: ideg-
lang: Hungarian
word: idegi
lang: Irish
word: néarógach
lang: Italian
word: nervoso
lang: Japanese
word: 神経の
roman: shinkei no
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: agirnok
lang: Macedonian
word: не́рвен
roman: nérven
lang: Middle English
word: nervous
lang: Norman
word: nèrveux
lang: Polish
word: nerwowy
lang: Portuguese
word: nervoso
lang: Romanian
word: nervos
lang: Russian
word: не́рвный
roman: nérvnyj
lang: Slovak
word: nervový
lang: Slovene
word: živčen
lang: Spanish
word: nervioso
lang: Turkish
word: sinirsel
lang: Ukrainian
word: нерво́вий
roman: nervóvyj
lang: Welsh
word: nerfol