nerve

Etymology

Recorded since circa 1374 as Middle English nerve, from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”). Doublet of neuron and sinew.

noun

1. A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics.
   The nerves can be seen through the skin.
2. (nonstandard, colloquial) A neuron.
3. (botany) 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.
   You got a lot of nerve / To say you are my friend / When I was down / You just stood there grinning 1965, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Positively 4th Street”
   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. 26 November 2013, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian
   Southgate's side kept their nerve and discipline in the unsettling, intimidating surroundings of Budapest, with the behaviour of Hungary's fans leaving much to be desired, to turn up the heat and punish their opponents ruthlessly once they had gone ahead. September 2 2021, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC
5. Patience; stamina; endurance, fortitude.
   The web-team found git-sed is really a time and nerve saver when doing mass changes on your repositories
6. (in the plural) One's neural structures considered collectively as, and conceptually equated with, one's psyche.
   All these rationalizations for asinine behavior are getting on my nerves.
   His nerves could no longer handle the worry.
7. (in the plural) Mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions.
   Put me in the hospital for nerves and then they had to commit me 1997, Harvey Danger (lyrics and music), “Flagpole Sitta”, in Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?
   Ellie had a bad case of nerves before the big test; she was a bundle of nerves.
8. (polymer technology) The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing.
   The nerviness (ability to recover quickly from strain or stretching) ... generally requires it to be broken down or masticated on the mill before the other compounding ingredients are added. In the break-down operation, heat is inherently generated by the sheer action of the milling or mixing equipment on the polymer. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the desired low temperatures during the milling or mixing... An object of this invention is to reduce the inherent nerve of ... polymers ... during break-down. 1959, Newell A Perry, Eric O Ridgway, US patent US2870103 Ahttps://www.google.com/patents/US2870103
9. (obsolete) Sinew, tendon.

verb

1. (transitive) 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! 1861, Elizabeth Gaskell, The Grey Woman
2. (transitive) 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. 1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 289