nervous

English Online Dictionary. What means nervous‎? What does nervous mean?

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnɜːvəs/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnɝːvəs/
• (New England, obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈnɑvəs/
• Hyphenation: nerv‧ous

Adjective

nervous (comparative more nervous, superlative most nervous)

1. Of sinews and tendons.
   1. (obsolete) Full of sinews. [14th–18th c.]
   3. (obsolete) Having strong or prominent sinews; sinewy, muscular. [15th–19th c.]
   4. (obsolete) Of a piece of writing, literary style etc.: forceful, powerful. [17th–19th c.]
2. Of nerves.
   1. Supplied with nerves; innervated. [from 14th c.]
   3. Affecting or involving the nerves or nervous system. [from 15th c.]
   5. (botany, obsolete) Nervose. [17th–18th c.]
   6. Easily agitated or alarmed; edgy, on edge. [from 18th c.]

      Synonyms: excitable, high-strung, hypersensitive; see also Thesaurus:nervous
   7. Apprehensive, anxious, hesitant, worried. [from 18th c.]

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:nervous

      Antonyms: calm, relaxed

Derived terms

Related terms

• nervosity

Translations

Notes

References

Further reading

• nervous (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “nervous”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “nervous”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nervōsus; equivalent to nerve +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɛrˈvuːs/, /ˈnɛrvus/

Adjective

nervous (Late Middle English)

1. Composed of or incorporating nerves or tendons.
2. (uncommon) Pertaining to nerves or tendons.

Descendants

• English: nervous

References

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