Nerve

Nerve

Noun / Verb · /nɜːv/

Definition

(Noun) a bundle of fibres transmitting impulses between the brain/spinal cord and the rest of the body; courage or boldness; audacity or impudence; (Verb, informal) to steel oneself for something; nerves: nervousness or anxiety.

Origin

From Latin nervus (sinew, tendon, nerve; bowstring; string of a musical instrument), from Proto-Indo-European *sneh₁- (to spin, sew: related to sinew, filament). Related to Greek neuron (sinew, nerve). The ancient anatomists using the same word for both nerves and tendons, the distinction not being clearly made until the 17th century. The modern figurative senses (courage, audacity) developing from the sense of nerve as the source of physical strength and resilience.