Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nervy” come from?

Nervy comes from Middle English nervie, from Latin nervosus meaning vigorous or sinewy, ultimately derived from Latin nervus meaning sinew or nerve.

nervy (English): Having nerve; bold; brazen; Feeling nervous,...

Definitions

  1. Having nerve; bold; brazen; Feeling nervous,...

Ancestry of “nervy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-yAdded to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives...
2Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
3Old English-iġ-y, -ic
4Proto-West Germanic-gForms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a...
5Proto-Germanic-gaz-y
6Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “nervy”

  • nervily
  • nerviness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →