nervous
/ˈnɝvəs/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.42 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of nerves.
adj
Of nerves.
adj
Of nerves.
adj
Of nerves.
Example Sentences
- "[T]here is nothing in marble equal to the Venus of Medici, for ſoftneſs and tenderneſs; as there is nothing ſo ſtrong and nervous, as the Hercules Farneſe."
- "Fortescutus illustratus, or a commentary on that nervous treatise De Laudibus Legum Angliæ […] [book title]"
- "Nervous, clear, and striking, was almost all that he uttered […]."
- "All Nervous Diſtempers whatſoever, from Yawning and Stretching, up to a mortal Fit of an Apoplexy, ſeems to me to be but one continued Diſorder, or the ſeveral Steps or Degrees of it, ariſing from a Relaxation or Weakneſs, and the want of a ſufficient Force and Elaſticity in the Solids in general, and the Nerves in particular, in Proportion to the Reſiſtance of the Fluids, in order to carry on the Circulation, remove Obſtructions, carry off the Recrements, and make the Secretions."
- "Elizabeth Moſs, a girl of about 15 years of age, was attacked, in December, 1773, with a ſlow nervous fever, during the courſe of which ſhe had very little ſleep; […]"
- "However, concern regarding potential morbidity from biopsy of a central nervous system lesion makes it rare to have a pathologic specimen available for clinical diagnosis."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnɝvəs/
- British English: /ˈnɜːvəs/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Medicine.
Inflected Forms
more nervous (comparative)
nervouser (comparative, nonstandard)
most nervous (superlative)
nervousest (nonstandard, superlative)