Etymology Dictionary

NERVE,  physical strength, firmness, a fibre in the body conveying sensation.  (F.,—L.)   M.E. nerfe, Chaucer, Troilus, b. ii. l. 642.—F. nerf, 'a sinew, might;' Cot.—Lat. neruum, acc. of neruus, a sinew. + Gk. νεῦρον, a sinew, string; cf. Gk. νευρά, a string.   β. The Lat. and Gk. forms have lost an initial s, which appears in G. schnur, a string, cord, line, lace, and in E. snare.   The form of the root is SNA, to tie (?); hence also Irish snaidhe, thread, snaithaim, I thread together, and E. needle.   See Needle, Snare.   Der. nerve, verb, not in early use; nerv-ous, formerly used in the sense of 'sinewy' (Phillips), from F. nerveux, 'sinewy' (Cot.), which from Lat. neruosus, full of nerve; nervous-ly, nervous-ness; also nerv-y, i.e. sinewy (obsolete), in Shak. Cor. ii. 1. 177; nerve-less; neur-algia.