英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

nerve (n.)[nerve 词源字典]: late 14c., nerf "sinew, tendon," from Old French nerf and directly from Medieval Latin nervus "nerve," from Latin nervus "sinew, tendon; cord, bowstring," metathesis of pre-Latin *neuros, from PIE *(s)neu- "tendon, sinew" (cognates: Sanskrit snavan- "band, sinew," Armenian neard "sinew," Greek neuron "sinew, tendon," in Galen "nerve"). Sense of "fibers that convey impulses between the brain and the body" is from c. 1600.

Secondary senses developed from meaning "strength, vigor, energy" (c. 1600), from the "sinew" sense. Hence figurative sense of "feeling, courage," first attested c. 1600; that of "courage, boldness" is from 1809; bad sense "impudence, cheek" is from 1887. Latin nervus also had a figurative sense of "vigor, force, power, strength," as did Greek neuron. From the neurological sense come Nerves "condition of nervousness," attested from 1792; to get on someone's nerves, from 1895. War of nerves "psychological warfare" is from 1915.[nerve etymology, nerve origin, 英语词源]
nerve (v.): c. 1500, "to ornament with threads;" see nerve (n.). Meaning "to give strength or vigor" is from 1749. Related: Nerved; nerving.
nerve-racking (adj.): also nerveracking, 1812, from nerve + present participle of verbal sense of rack (n.1).
nerve-wracking (adj.): also nervewracking, 1867, from nerve + present participle of wrack (v.).
nervous (adj.): c. 1400, "affecting the sinews," from Latin nervosus "sinewy, vigorous," from nervus "sinew, nerve" (see nerve). Meaning "of or belonging to the nerves" in the modern sense is from 1660s. Meaning "suffering disorder of the nervous system" is from 1734; illogical sense "restless, agitated, lacking nerve" is 1740. Widespread popular use as a euphemism for mental forced the medical community to coin neurological to replace it in the older sense. Nervous wreck first attested 1862. Related: Nervously; nervousness.
nervy (adj.): "full of courage," 1870, from nerve + -y (2). Sense of "excitable" is from 1891.
nescience (n.): "ignorance," 1610s, from Late Latin nescientia, from nesciens (see nescient).
nescient (adj.): 1620s, from Latin nescientem (nominative nesciens) "ignorant, unaware," present participle of nescire "not to know, to be ignorant," from ne "not" + scire "to know" (see science).
nesh (adj.): "tender, delicate, weak," now a Northern England dialect word, from Old English hnesce "soft in texture" (cognate with early modern Dutch nesch, Gothic hnasqus), of unknown origin.
ness (n.): obsolete except in place names, Old English næs "a promontory," related to nasu "nose" (see nose (n.)). Cognate with Old Norse nes, Danish næs, Swedish näs, Middle Dutch nesse.
Nessie: colloquial name of the "Loch Ness monster," 1945. The loch is named for the river Ness, probably from an Old Celtic word meaning "roaring one."
nest (n.): Old English nest "bird's nest, snug retreat," also "young bird, brood," from Proto-Germanic *nistaz (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch nest, German Nest), from PIE *nizdo- (cognates: Sanskrit nidah "resting place, nest," Latin nidus "nest," Old Church Slavonic gnezdo, Old Irish net, Welsh nyth, Breton nez "nest"), probably from *ni "down" + *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).

Used since Middle English in reference to various accumulations of things (such as a nest of drawers, early 18c.). Nest egg "retirement savings" is from 1700, originally "a real or artificial egg left in a nest to induce the hen to go on laying there" (c. 1600).
nest (v.): Old English nistan "to build nests," from Proto-Germanic *nistijanan, from the source of nest (n.). The modern verb is perhaps a new formation in Middle English from the noun. Related: Nested; nesting.
nesting (adj.): 1650s, "making or using a nest," past participle adjective from nest (v.). Of objects, "fitted into one another," from 1934.
nestle (v.): Old English nestlian "build a nest," from nest (see nest (n.)). Figurative sense of "settle (oneself) comfortably, snuggle" is first recorded 1540s. Related: Nestled; nestling.
nestling (n.): late 14c., "bird too young to leave the nest," from nest (n.) + diminutive suffix -ling.
Nestor: name for "old king renowned for wise counsel," 1580s, from Greek, name of the aged and wise hero in the "Iliad," king of Pylus, who outlived three generations. Klein says the name is literally "one who blesses," and is related to nostimos "blessed;" Watkins connects it with the root of the first element in nostalgia.
Nestorian (n.): in Church history (mid-15c.), a follower of Nestorius (Latinized form of Nestor), 5c. patriarch of Constantinople, whose doctrine attributed distinct divine and human persons to Christ and was condemned as heresy. As an adjective from 1560s. Related: Nestorianism.
net (n.): Old English net "netting, network, spider web, mesh used for capturing," also figuratively, "moral or mental snare or trap," from Proto-Germanic *natjan (cognates: Old Saxon net, Old Norse, Dutch net, Swedish nät, Old High German nezzi, German Netz, Gothic nati "net"), originally "something knotted," from PIE *ned- "to twist, knot" (cognates: Sanskrit nahyati "binds, ties," Latin nodus "knot," Old Irish nascim "I bind, oblige").
net (adj.): "remaining after deductions," 1510s, from earlier sense of "trim, elegant, clean, neat" (c. 1300), from Old French net "clean, pure," from Latin nitere "to shine, look bright, glitter" (see neat). Meaning influenced by Italian netto "remaining after deductions." As a noun, 1910.