Nerve Means Both Courage and Cheek
A nerve carries signals in the body. The word also means courage and, confusingly, impudence.
A nerve is a bundle of fibres carrying signals between the brain and the body. Figuratively it pulls in opposite directions: *he had the nerve to try* is praise for courage, while *he had the nerve to ask* is a complaint about cheek, and only the surrounding words tell you which is meant. *Nervous*, meanwhile, once meant sinewy and strong before it came to mean anxious. The longest human nerve, the sciatic, runs from the lower back to the foot.
- A signal fibre. *The optic nerve.*
- Courage. *He lost his nerve.*
- Impudence. *The nerve of it!*
- Nervous — anxious. *Feeling nervous.*
- Get on your nerves — to irritate. *It gets on my nerves.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | nerve | A trapped nerve. |
| Plural | nerves | Frayed nerves. |
| Adjective | nervous | Nervous energy. |
| Adjective | nervy | Nervy, British. |
| Latin | nervus | Sinew, nerve. |
- The sciatic nerve runs to the foot.Anatomy.
- She kept her nerve under pressure.Courage.
- He had the nerve to complain.Cheek.
Nerve phrases
- Lose your nerve — fail in courage at the crucial moment
- Hit a nerve — touch on something painful
- Get on someone's nerves — irritate them persistently
- A bundle of nerves — extremely anxious
- Nervy — bold in America, anxious in Britain
Latin *nervus*, a sinew or tendon, later a nerve, from a root also behind Greek *neuron*.
Does nerve mean courage or cheek?
Both, and only context distinguishes them. Losing your nerve is about courage; the nerve of it is about impudence.
Does nervy mean the same in Britain and America?
No. In Britain it means anxious; in America it means bold or cheeky.