nerve

英 [nɜːv] 美[nɝv]
  • n. 神经;勇气;[植] 叶脉
  • vt. 鼓起勇气

CET4TEM4GRE考研CET6中频词核心词汇

词态变化


复数: nerves;第三人称单数: nerves;过去式: nerved;过去分词: nerved;现在分词: nerving;

中文词源


nerve 神经,神经质,勇气,气魄

来自拉丁语nervus,跟腱,肌筋,来自PIE*sneu,跟腱,肌筋,来自PIE*sne,缝制,编织,词源同needle,net.后用于指人体的筋脉,引申词义神经,神经质,勇气,气魄等。

英英释意


1. any bundle of nerve fibers running to various organs and tissues of the body
2. the courage to carry on;
"he kept fighting on pure spunk"
"you haven't got the heart for baseball"
3. impudent aggressiveness;
"I couldn't believe her boldness"
"he had the effrontery to question my honesty"

英文词源


nerve
nerve: [16] Latin nervus meant ‘sinew, bowstring’. It and its Greek relative neuron (source of English neural) may belong to a wider family of words that includes Latin nēre ‘spin’ (a relative of English needle) and possibly also English narrow, perhaps with a common meaning element. The application to ‘bundle of fibres carrying sensory or other impulses’ seems to have begun in Greek, but was soon adopted into the Latin word, and was brought with it into English.

Metaphorically, the Romans used nervus for ‘strength, force’, an application perhaps lying behind the English sense ‘courage’, first recorded in the early 19th century. The use of the plural nerves for ‘agitation, apprehension’ (and of the adjective nervous [14] for ‘apprehensive’) is an English development, which probably started in the mid- 18th century.

=> needle, neural
nerve (n.)
late 14c., nerf "sinew, tendon," from Old French nerf and directly from Medieval Latin nervus "nerve," from Latin nervus "sinew, tendon; cord, bowstring," metathesis of pre-Latin *neuros, from PIE *(s)neu- "tendon, sinew" (cognates: Sanskrit snavan- "band, sinew," Armenian neard "sinew," Greek neuron "sinew, tendon," in Galen "nerve"). Sense of "fibers that convey impulses between the brain and the body" is from c. 1600.

Secondary senses developed from meaning "strength, vigor, energy" (c. 1600), from the "sinew" sense. Hence figurative sense of "feeling, courage," first attested c. 1600; that of "courage, boldness" is from 1809; bad sense "impudence, cheek" is from 1887. Latin nervus also had a figurative sense of "vigor, force, power, strength," as did Greek neuron. From the neurological sense come Nerves "condition of nervousness," attested from 1792; to get on someone's nerves, from 1895. War of nerves "psychological warfare" is from 1915.
nerve (v.)
c. 1500, "to ornament with threads;" see nerve (n.). Meaning "to give strength or vigor" is from 1749. Related: Nerved; nerving.

同义词辨析


courage, bravery, backbone, nerve

这些名词都可表示"勇气,胆量"之意。

courage: 普通用词。指面对危险或困难时无所畏惧的精神和敢于奋斗的进取心。

bravery: 指在危险中表现出的无所畏惧精神或在逆境中仍能坚持下去的毅力。

backbone: 指性格倔强,意志坚定,有骨气,有顽强的决心去做某事。

nerve: 侧重指面临危险或在冒险的情况下具有冷静、清醒的头脑和坚定无畏的勇气。

考试真题


Were they tuned off because an American had the nerve to instruct Japanese in their own art form or they deliberately tried to signal their rejection of her?

出自-2011年12月听力原文

There are close to one million nerve fibres that connect the eyeball to the brain, as of yet it is impossible to attach them all in a new person.

出自-2011年6月听力原文

The researchers speculate that craft activities promote the development of nerve pathways in the brain that help to maintain cognitive health.

2017年12月四级真题(第三套)阅读 Section B

Janet James was 22 years old when she was diagnosed with MS—a disease that attacks the body's nerves.

出自-2013年12月听力原文

Perhaps it is early nerve development that makes some infant girls show more intelligence than infant boys.

出自-2012年12月听力原文

They believe that the nerve endings in the left side of the brain develop faster in girls than in boys, and it is this side of the brain that strongly influences an individual's ability to use language and remember things

出自-2012年12月听力原文

It is a breakthrough in the study of the nerve system.

出自-2012年12月听力原文

Already it is known that bones, muscles and nerves develop faster in baby girls.

出自-2012年12月听力原文

Were they tuned off because an American had the nerve to instruct Japanese in their own art form or they deliberately tried to signal their rejection of her?

出自-2011年12月听力原文

Research conducted at Stanford University shows a mental image fires the nerve system the same way as actually doing something.

2017年6月六级真题(第二套)听力 Section B

Some papers even had the nerve to refuse delivery to distant suburbs.

2011年考研真题(英语二)阅读理解 Section Ⅱ

词组搭配


a bag (或 bundle) of nerves

(informal)someone who is extremely timid or tense

(非正式)极端胆小的人;神经极度紧张的人

get on someone's nerves

(informal)irritate or annoy someone

(非正式)使某人紧张不安;让某人心烦

have nerves of steel

not be easily upset or frightened

沉着;有胆量

live on one's nerves (或 one's nerve ends)

be extremely anxious or tense

过紧张不安的日子

touch (或 hit) a nerve (或 a raw nerve)

provoke a reaction by referring to a sensitive topic

触及要害;触到痛处

war of nerves

a struggle in which opponents try to wear each other down by psychological means

神经战

get on (someone's) nerves

To irritate or exasperate.

激怒或刺激

strain every nerve

To make every effort.

竭尽全力

实用场景例句


the optic nerve
视神经

牛津词典

nerve cells
神经元

牛津词典

nerve endings
神经末梢

牛津词典

Every nerve in her body was tense.
她的每一根神经都绷得紧紧的。

牛津词典

Even after years as a singer, he still suffers from nerves before a performance.
尽管已做歌手多年,他在演出前仍然神经紧张。

牛津词典

I need something to calm/steady my nerves .
我需要点东西来稳定一下我的情绪。

牛津词典

Everyone's nerves were on edge (= everyone felt tense ) .
人人都觉得紧张。

牛津词典

He lives on his nerves (= is always worried) .
他就爱神经紧张。

牛津词典

It took a lot of nerve to take the company to court.
将这个公司告上法庭需要极大的勇气。

牛津词典

I was going to have a go at parachuting but lost my nerve at the last minute.
我想尝试一下跳伞,可到最后关头却没有勇气了。

牛津词典

He kept his nerve to win the final set 6–4.
他鼓足斗志以6:4赢了最后一盘。

牛津词典

I don't know how you have the nerve to show your face after what you said!
真不知道你说了那些话以后怎么还有脸露面!

牛津词典

He's got a nerve asking us for money!
他还觍着脸跟我们借钱!

牛津词典

...spinal nerves.
脊神经

柯林斯高阶英语词典

...in cases where the nerve fibres are severed.
在一些神经纤维被割断的病例中

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Jill's nerves are stretched to breaking point...
吉尔的神经绷紧到了极点。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I can be very patient, and then I can burst if my nerves are worn out.
我很有耐心,可如果我的承受力到了极限,我就撑不住了。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I just played badly. It wasn't nerves.
我只是打得很糟,不是紧张造成的。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The brandy made him choke, but it restored his nerve...
虽说白兰地呛了他一下,却让他恢复了勇气。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He never got up enough nerve to meet me.
他从没有足够的胆量来见我。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

I nerved myself to face the pain.
我鼓足勇气去面对痛苦。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Lately he's not done a bloody thing and it's getting on my nerves.
近来他没有干任何坏事,这让我心神不定起来。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

They've got a nerve, complaining about our behaviour...
他们竟敢对我们的行为表示不满。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He had the nerve to ask me to prove who I was.
他竟敢要求我证明我自己的身份。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

He held his nerve to beat Andre Agassi in a five-set thriller on Court One...
他镇定自若,在1号场地惊心动魄的5盘3胜对决中击败了安德鲁·阿加西。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

We need to keep our nerve now.
我们现在需要保持镇静。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Eileen, mother of three, had been living on her nerves for some considerable time.
艾琳是3个孩子的母亲,已有相当一段时间总是感到紧张不安。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The bomber had lost his nerve and fled.
放炸弹的人没了胆子,逃之夭夭。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

Alistair saw Henry shrink, as if the words had touched a nerve...
阿利斯泰尔看到亨利向后缩了一下,好像那些话触到了他的痛处。

柯林斯高阶英语词典

The mere mention of John had touched a very raw nerve indeed.
提到约翰就真的让人心痛。

柯林斯高阶英语词典