nervous

adj

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.

1. Of sinews and tendons.
2. Of sinews and tendons.

   “[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.”

3. Of sinews and tendons.

   “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 […].”

4. Of nerves.
5. Of nerves.

   “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; […]”

6. Of nerves.

   “CANNACORUS, […] It hath a knobbed tuberoſe Root: The Leaves are long and nervous: […]”

7. Of nerves.

   “Being in a crowd of strangers makes me nervous.”

   “I can only assure you here that there is such a thing as a nervous child; whose nervous system is unstable; who is easily upset; whose pulse is apt to "run away" at any excitement; who blushes and pales and sweats easily; who tires easily; and who may be subject to headache and eye strain.”

8. Of nerves.

   “They were looking at the table (which was spread out in great array); for these young housekeepers are always nervous on such points, and like to see that everything is right.”

   “Various harbours fit to receive settlers are now enumerated by the author; and as for the cold, of which some, through report, entertained a nervous dread, he invites his readers to reflect on "the great colde that is at times in Muſcouia, Sweidon, Norway, Spruceland, Poland, Denmarke, and other Eaſterne and Northerne parts of the world, where the people liue well and grow rich;" […]”