Nerve

[nurv] /nɜrv/

noun
1.
one or more bundles of fibers forming part of a system that conveys impulses of sensation, motion, etc., between the brain or spinal cord and other parts of the body.
2.
a sinew or tendon:
to strain every nerve.
3.
firmness or courage under trying circumstances:
an assignment requiring nerve.
4.
boldness; audacity; impudence; impertinence:
He had the nerve to say that?
5.
nerves, nervousness:
an attack of nerves.
6.
strength, vigor, or energy:
a test of nerve and stamina.
7.
(not in technical use) pulp tissue of a tooth.
8.
Botany. a vein, as in a leaf.
9.
a line, or one of a system of lines, extending across something.
verb (used with object), nerved, nerving.
10.
to give strength, vigor, or courage to:
Encouragement had nerved him for the struggle.
Idioms
11.
get on one’s nerves, to irritate, annoy, or provoke one:
Boisterous children get on my nerves.
/nɜːv/
noun
1.
any of the cordlike bundles of fibres that conduct sensory or motor impulses between the brain or spinal cord and another part of the body related adjective neural
2.
courage, bravery, or steadfastness
3.
lose one’s nerve, to become timid, esp failing to perform some audacious act
4.
(informal) boldness or effrontery; impudence: he had the nerve to swear at me
5.
muscle or sinew (often in the phrase strain every nerve)
6.
a large vein in a leaf
7.
any of the veins of an insect’s wing
8.
touch a nerve, touch a raw nerve, hit a nerve, hit a raw nerve, strike a nerve, strike a raw nerve, to mention or bring to mind a sensitive issue or subject
verb (transitive)
9.
to give courage to (oneself); steel (oneself)
10.
to provide with nerve or nerves
n.

late 14c., nerf “sinew, tendon,” from Old French nerf and directly from Medieval Latin nervus “nerve,” from Latin nervus “sinew, tendon; cord, bowstring,” metathesis of pre-Latin *neuros, from PIE *(s)neu- “tendon, sinew” (cf. Sanskrit snavan- “band, sinew,” Armenian neard “sinew,” Greek neuron “sinew, tendon,” in Galen “nerve”). Sense of “fibers that convey impulses between the brain and the body” is from c.1600.

Secondary senses developed from meaning “strength, vigor, energy” (c.1600), from the “sinew” sense. Hence figurative sense of “feeling, courage,” first attested c.1600; that of “courage, boldness” is from 1809; bad sense “impudence, cheek” is from 1887. Latin nervus also had a figurative sense of “vigor, force, power, strength,” as did Greek neuron. From the neurological sense come Nerves “condition of nervousness,” attested from 1792; to get on someone’s nerves, from 1895. War of nerves “psychological warfare” is from 1915.
v.

c.1500, “to ornament with threads;” see nerve (n.). Meaning “to give strength or vigor” is from 1749. Related: Nerved; nerving.

nerve (nûrv)
n.

nerve
(nûrv)
Any of the bundles of fibers made up of neurons that carry sensory and motor information throughout the body in the form of electrical impulses. Afferent nerves carry information to the central nervous system, and efferent nerves carry information from the central nervous system to the muscles, organs, and glands. Efferent nerves include the nerves of the peripheral nervous system, which control voluntary motor activity and of the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary motor activity.

A bundle of fibers composed of neurons that connects the body parts and organs to the central nervous system and carries impulses from one part of the body to another.

noun

Related Terms

get on someone’s nerves, have a nerve
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