nerve

Forms

1.A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.
- The nerves can be seen through the skin.
2.A neuron.(colloquial)
3.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.
- 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.

1.To give courage.
- May their example nerve us to face the enemy.
- And how I strained my ears, and nerved my hands and limbs, beginning to twitch with convulsive movements, which I feared might betray me!
- 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.
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.
3.To perform a neurectomy on (someone or something).(informal)
- Her instructor was trying to convince me that her horse's tail "needed" to be nerved.
- 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.
4.To get on (someone’s) nerves; to annoy, irritate, or bother (someone).(informal)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.

Uncommon· #3350

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.