nervy

nervy
nervy (adj.) "full of courage," 1870, from NERVE (Cf. nerve) + -Y (Cf. -y) (2). Sense of "excitable" is from 1891.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • nervy — erv y (n[ e]rv [y^]), a. [Compar. {nervier} (n[ e]rv [i^]*[ e]r); superl. {nerviest}.] 1. Strong; sinewy. His nervy knees. Keats. [1913 Webster] 2. Offensively bold or presumptuous; insolent; cheeky; pushy. [PJC] 3. Exhibiting courage or daring;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nervy — index insolent Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • nervy — [adj] bold, pushy cheeky*, crass, crude, forward, fresh*, impudent, inconsiderate, pert, plucky*, rude, sassy*, smart, smart alecky*, wise; concept 401 Ant. afraid, modest, shy, timid, unwilling …   New thesaurus

  • nervy — ► ADJECTIVE (nervier, nerviest) 1) chiefly Brit. nervous or tense. 2) N. Amer. informal bold or impudent. DERIVATIVES nervily adverb nerviness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • nervy — [nʉr′vē] adj. nervier, nerviest 1. Rare strong; vigorous; sinewy 2. Brit. nervous; excitable; jittery 3. full of courage; bold ☆ 4. Informal rudely bold; brazen; impudent nervily adv. nerviness n …   English World dictionary

  • nervy — [[t]nɜ͟ː(r)vi[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED If someone is nervy, their behaviour shows that they are very tense or anxious, or they are the type of person who is easily upset. [mainly BRIT] Sometimes dad was nice to us, but sometimes he was bad tempered and …   English dictionary

  • nervy — nervily, adv. nerviness, n. /nerr vee/, adj., nervier, nerviest. 1. brashly presumptuous or insolent; pushy: a nervy thing to say; a nervy trick to pull. 2. having or showing courage; brave or bold: the nervy feats of the mountaineers. 3. strong; …   Universalium

  • nervy — UK [ˈnɜː(r)vɪ] / US [ˈnɜrvɪ] adjective Word forms nervy : adjective nervy comparative nervier superlative nerviest informal 1) British worried and afraid a nervy and excitable group 2) a) American willing to do something although it might offend… …   English dictionary

  • nervy — 1. mod. nervous. □ Mary is so nervy. Anything will set her off. □ Now, don’t get nervy. 2. mod. daring; courageous. □ What a nervy guy! □ Don’t get nervy with me …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • nervy — nerv|y [ nɜrvi ] adjective INFORMAL 1. ) AMERICAN willing to do something although it might offend someone: It was a bit nervy of me, I know, but I rushed to the front of the line. a ) rude and showing little respect for what people think or… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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