From Middle English nervous ("containing nerves; made up of nerve-like fibres; of or relating to nerves; containing sinews or tendons, sinewy; affecting sinews or tendons"), from Latin nervōsus ("nervous; sinewy; energetic, vigorous"), from nervus (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *snéh₁wr̥ ("sinew, tendon")) + -ōsus. The English word is analysable as nerve + -ous.
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