nervous

nervous

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of nervous in English

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.]
    2. (obsolete) Having strong or prominent sinews; sinewy, muscular. [15th–19th c.]
    3. (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.]
    2. Affecting or involving the nerves or nervous system. [from 15th c.]
    3. (botany, obsolete) Nervose. [17th–18th c.]
    4. Easily agitated or alarmed; edgy, on edge. [from 18th c.]
      Synonyms: excitable, high-strung, hypersensitive; see also Thesaurus:nervous
    5. 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
  • “nervous”, in The Century Dictionary [], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →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.

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.