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 (“to get on (someone’s) nerves”) is chiefly a semantic loan from German nerven.
A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.
The nerves can be seen through the skin.
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 […]1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
Biology, Botany, Natural sciences 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.
4 more examples
“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.”1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XVIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
You got a lot of nerve / To say you are my friend / When I was down / You just stood there grinning1965, Bob Dylan, “Positively 4th Street”:
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.2013 November 26, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:
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.2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC:
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
He led me on to mightiest deeds, / Above the nerve of mortal arm.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:
6
In 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 plural Mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions.
Ellie had a bad case of nerves before the big test; she was a bundle of nerves.
Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me1997, Harvey Danger, “Flagpole Sitta”, in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?:
8
The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing.
Polymer technology
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.1959, Newell A Perry, Eric O Ridgway, US patent US2870103 Ahttps://www.google.com/patents/US2870103
Come on; obey: / Thy nerves are in their infancy again, / And have no vigour in them.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]:
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.1725, Homer, “Book X”, in [Alexander Pope], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume III, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC:
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 (“to get on (someone’s) nerves”) is chiefly a semantic loan from German nerven.
1
To give courage.
May their example nerve us to face the enemy.
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.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:
1 more example
And how I strained my ears, and nerved my hands and limbs, beginning to twitch with convulsive movements, which I feared might betray me!1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman:
2
To give strength; to supply energy or vigour.
The liquor nerved up several of the men after their icy march.
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.1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 289:
3
Informal To perform a neurectomy on (someone or something).
She has been trying everything (wedge pads, bar shoes, etc.) and he is still dead lame. Someone has suggested nerving him, which (I believe - correct me if I am wrong!) involves cutting the main nerve in his foot so he can be ridden without pain.1993 January 8, Penny E. Breyer, “Net wisdom needed on nerving”, in rec.equestrian (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
You can't nerve a hoof and I didn't realize that the cannon bone where the nerving takes place is not part of the leg.1999 June 18, CJ, “Advice for horse that keeps mouth open & runs through the bit?”, in rec.equestrian (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
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Her instructor was trying to convince me that her horse's tail "needed" to be nerved.2002 March 24, lpgirl, “nerving tails”, in rec.equestrian (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
4
Informal, Rare To get on (someone’s) nerves; to annoy, irritate, or bother (someone).
I guess, my previous message never came in the net..so again: (hope, i don't nerve anyone) We want to combine different LAN's via fiberoptic cable (Monomode) to the Internet.1996 July 1, Tuennes, “FDDI or Ethernet or what?”, in comp.dcom.lans.ethernet (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
No way was I assured, but after that the doctor refused to answer anymore questions. Instead, he wouldn’t stop nerving me to give him a guided tour of the berserker.2024, Michael Kobzan, “Return to The Berserker”, in John Dunley, →ISBN:
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Do not nerve others: Of course it helps to talk to others. But just when you've got a lot of information, that can be annoying.2025, Simone Janson, “Better Choice - 10 Tips: Properly informing instead of brooding!”, in Yes, No, Maybe? What to Do When You Don’t Know What You Want, Best of HR, →ISBN:
Mathias slowly leads his hand down to the holster... yeah, cool steel... his fingers wrap around the grip of his Smith & Wesson's, dragging it out, aiming and... In other words: Stop nerving, damiac14!1997 May 8, Mathias Schiffer, “Damiac14's Page Updated, and improved!”, in comp.lang.basic.visual.misc (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
use the extrapolar solution, don't nerve.1998 December 24, TUTonNO, “REM Thieves?- a hint”, in alt.my.head.hurts (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
2 more examples
Speaking of Camden, I pulled off I-676 once to clean my windshield on the side of some surface street before turning around to shoot the Ben Franklin Bridge Westbound and I must say I was a bit nervous knowing the reputation, and I don't "nerve" easily.2006 March 22, JimKG@aol.com, “Most dangerous place you have gone with a camera?”, in misc.transport.road (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025:
Broadband Quality :) Stop nerving!!!2007 October 25, Daniel Mandic, “Update on Jack Tramiel at CHM - Dec. 10 !!!”, in comp.sys.amiga.misc (Usenet), archived from the original on 21 Aug 2025: