nerve

Recorded since circa 1374 as Middle English nerve, from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”). Doublet of neuron and sinew.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /nɝv/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /nɜːv/
• (NYC) IPA^(key): /nɜɪv/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /nɛɾv/

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)v

nerve (plural nerves)

1. A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.

   Hyponyms: see Thesaurus:nerve

   The nerves can be seen through the skin.

2. (nonstandard, colloquial) A neuron.
3. (botany) A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood.

   Some plants have ornamental value because of their contrasting nerves.

4. Courage; boldness; audacity; gall.

   He had the nerve to enter my house uninvited.

   He hasn't the nerve to tell her he likes her.

   • 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, OCLC 1227855:

     “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.”

   Synonyms: brashness, brazenness, balls; see also Thesaurus:courage

   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Jack Wilshere scores twice to ease Arsenal to victory over Marseille (in The Guardian, 26 November 2013)

     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.

   • 2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC‎:

     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.

5. Patience; stamina; endurance, fortitude.

   The web-team found git-sed is really a time and nerve saver when doing mass changes on your repositories

   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], OCLC 228732398, lines 639–640, pages 42–43:

     He led me on to mightiest deeds, / Above the nerve of mortal arm.

6. (in the plural) One's neural structures considered collectively as, and conceptually equated with, one's psyche;

   All these rationalizations for asinine behavior are getting on my nerves.

   His nerves could no longer handle the worry.

7. (in the plural) mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions.
   • 1997, Harvey Danger (lyrics and music), “Flagpole Sitta”, in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?:

     Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me

   Ellie had a bad case of nerves before the big test; she was a bundle of nerves.

8. (polymer technology) The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing.

   A nervy tank lining will be difficult to lay around tight bends or in corners because it tends to spring back.[1]

   • 1959, Newell A Perry, Eric O Ridgway, US patent US2870103 A

     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.

9. (obsolete) Sinew, tendon.
   • 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 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Come on; obey: / Thy nerves are in their infancy again, / And have no vigour in them.

   • 1725, Homer; [Alexander Pope], transl., “Book X”, in The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, OCLC 8736646:

     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.

nerve (third-person singular simple present nerves, present participle nerving, simple past and past participle nerved)

1. (transitive) To give courage.
   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     The yellow-bearded Mailey, the old warrior, scarred with many combats and eager for more, stood beside his wife, the gentle squire who bore his weapons and nerved his arm.

   May their example nerve us to face the enemy.

   • 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman

     And how I strained my ears, and nerved my hands and limbs, beginning to twitch with convulsive movements, which I feared might betray me!

2. (transitive) To give strength; to supply energy or vigour.

   The liquor nerved up several of the men after their icy march.

   • 1907, Barbara Baynton, Sally Krimmer; Alan Lawson, editors, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 289:

     The shock nerved her, and she ran aimlessly till she fell, and for a time lay, but making a barrier of her arms, that the child should not be crushed.

• Sometimes used with “up”.

• (give strength): See also Thesaurus:strengthen

• Verne, erven, never

nerve f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

1. Obsolete form of nerf.

• erven, reven, veren

nerve

1. inflection of nerver:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

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nerve

1. inflection of nerven:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
   3. singular imperative

nerve

1. vocative singular of nervus

• nerf, nerfe, nerff, nerffe

Borrowed from Medieval Latin nervus, from Proto-Italic *snēuros, from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥; thus a doublet of synwe. Forms with /f/ reflect Middle French nerf.

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɛrvə/, /nɛrf/

nerve (plural nerves)

1. A nerve (bundle of neurons)
2. A tendon or sinew (band of collagen).
3. (botany, rare) Plant fibre.

• nervous

• English: nerve
• Scots: nerve

• “nerve, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

From Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron), and Latin nervus.

nerve m (definite singular nerven, indefinite plural nerver, definite plural nervene)

1. nerve

• isjiasnerve
• nervecelle
• nervesystem

“nerve” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron), and Latin nervus.

nerve m (definite singular nerven, indefinite plural nervar, definite plural nervane)

1. nerve

• isjiasnerve
• nervecelle
• nervesystem

• “nerve” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.