LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

nervus

nervus m (genitive nervī)
Classical[ˈnɛr.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈnɛr.vus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea muscle
    […]: trepidantem et terga parantem8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 8.363–364
  2. figurativelymasculinevigor, force, power, strength, energy, nerve
  3. alsoin pluralmasculinethe penis
    Cum mihi Cous adesset Amyntas, cuius in indomito constantior inguine nervusc. 30 BCE, Horatius, Epodi 12.18–20
    […]admotisque manibus temptare coepit inguinum vires. Dicto citius nervi paruerunt imperio, manusque aniculae ingenti motu repleverunt.c. 27 CE – 66 CE, Petronius, Satyricon 131.5–6
  4. masculinea cord, string, thong or wire
    Near-synonyms: fūnis, restis, rū̆dēns
  5. masculinethe string of a musical instrument
  6. in pluralmasculinea lyre
  7. masculinea bowstring
    Tālia iactantem dictīs ac dīra canentem nōn tulit Ascanius, nervōque obversus equīnō contendit tēlum[…]29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 9.621–623
  8. masculinea bow
  9. masculinecords or wires by which a puppet is moved
    nempe tu, mihi qui imperitas, aliis servis miser atquec. 35 BCE, Horatius, Sermones 2.7.80–82
  10. masculinea thong or iron chains with which a person's feet (or neck) was bound: fetters
    Near-synonyms: vinculum, compēs; carcer
    vincito aut nervo aut compedibus449 BCE, Lex duodecim tabularum 3.3
  11. masculinemetonymicallya prison
  12. masculinethe leather with which shields were covered
    Fugit illa per oras multiplicis lini subtextaque tegmina neruisc. 83 CE – 96 CE, Silius Italicus, Punica 4.293
    Denserent ictus, ora mucronibus quaererent: non loricam Germano, non galeam, ne scuta quidem ferro nervove firmata, sed viminum textus vel tenuis et fucatas colore tabulas;[…]c. 117 CE, Tacitus, Annales 2.14
  13. masculinea fiber

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

id unde vīrēs veniunt; nervus bellī = pecūnia
sinew; string
nervus -ī (m) — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 17

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativenervusnervī
genitivenervīnervōrum
dativenervōnervīs
accusativenervumnervōs
ablativenervōnervīs
vocativenervenervī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

pellere nervos in fidibus
to strike the strings of the lyre.
nervorum et tibiarum cantus
instrumental music.
vocum et fidium (nervorum) cantus
vocal and instrumental music.
omnes nervos in aliqua re contendere
to strain every nerve, do one's utmost in a matter.
omnibus viribusor nervis contendere, ut
to strain every nerve, do one's utmost in a matter.

nervus, i, m. root snar-; Old Germ. snara, a snare; Gr. νεῦρον; cf. parvus and παῦρος,
I. a sinew, tendon, nerve.
I. Lit.: his adde nervos, a quibus artus continentur, Cic. N. D. 2, 55, 139: hoc nervos confirmari putant, Caes. B. G. 6, 20: nervus qui platys appellatur, Plin. 26, 8, 58, § 90: hic primum nervos et venas expressit (of Pythagoras the painter), id. 34, 8, 19, § 59: nervorum contractio, Sen. Ep. 66, 40: nervi quos τένοντας Graeci appellant, Cels. 8, 1: condamus alter alterum in nervum bracchialem, let us embrace, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 99.—
B. Transf.
1. I. q. membrum virile, Hor. Epod. 12, 19; Juv. 10, 205; 9, 35; pl. nervi, Petr. 131, §§ 4 and 6.—
2. A string of a musical instrument: omnes voces, ut nervi in fidibus, ita sonant, ut, etc., Cic. de Or. 3, 57, 216: cotidiano cantu vocum et nervorum et tibiarum tota vicinitas personat, id. Rosc. Am. 46, 134; Verg. A. 9, 776; Hor. C. 3, 11, 4.—
3. A bowstring: reciproca tendens nervo equino concita tela, Att. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 80 Müll. (Trag. Rel. p. 176 Rib.): nervoque obversus equino Contendit telum, Verg. A. 9, 622: nervo aptare sagittas, id. ib. 10, 131: erumpit nervo pulsante sagitta, id. G. 4, 313; so Val. Fl. 6, 376; 1, 437; Luc. 7, 141.—
b. A bow: aliquem fallere nervo, Val. Fl. 3, 182.—
4. The leather with which shields were covered: scuta nervo firmata, Tac. A. 2, 14; Sil. 4, 293.—
5. A thong with which a person was bound, Plaut. Curc. 5, 3, 11; Veg. Mil. 4, 9.—
6. The cords or wires by which a puppet is moved: duceris ut nervis alienis mobile lignum, Hor. S. 2, 7, 82.—
7. A fetter: nervum appellamus etiam ferreum vinculum, quo pedes impediuntur: quamquam Plautus eo etiam cervices vinciri ait: Perfidiose captus edepol nervo cervices probat, Paul. ex Fest. p. 165 Müll.: VINCITO AVT NERVO, AVT COMPEDIBVS, Lex XII. Tab. ap. Gell. 20, 1: in nervo atque compedibus aetatem agunt, Cato ap. Gell. 11, 18, 18; cf. Plaut. As. 3, 2, 5: posuit in nervo pedes meos, Vulg. Job, 33, 11.—
b. A prison: in nervum aliquem rapere, Plaut. Capt. 5, 3, 45: in nervo jacebis, id. Curc. 5, 3, 40; cf. id. Capt. 3, 5, 71: vereor ne istaec fortitudo in nervum erumpat denique, will lay you by the heels, bring you into durance, Ter. Phorm. 2, 2, 10; 4, 4, 15: eximere de nervo aliquem, Liv. 6, 15, 9: misit in nervum, Vulg. Jer. 20, 2.—
II. Trop.
A. Nerve, vigor, force, power, strength: digna res est ubi tu nervos intendas tuos, Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 20: onus ... dignum, in quo omnes nervos aetatis industriaeque meae contenderem, Cic. Verr. 1, 12, 35: omnibus nervis mihi contendendum est, ut, etc., id. ib. 2, 3, 56, § 130: opibus ac nervis ad perniciem suam uti, Caes. B. G. 1, 20; Cic. Phil. 5, 12, 32: nervi belli pecunia, id. ib. 5, 2, 5: vectigalia nervos esse rei publicae, id. Imp. Pomp. 7, 17: legionum nervos incidere, id. Phil. 12, 3, 8: poëtae molliunt animos, nervos omnes virtutis elidunt, id. Tusc. 2, 11, 27: video, fore nervis opus sapientiāque tuā, id. Fam. 3, 10, 1: loci inhaerentes in nervis causarum, intimately connected with them, id. de Or. 3, 27, 106: nervi conjurationis, the leaders, Liv. 7, 39, 6.—
B. In partic., of expression, force, energy: horum oratio neque nervos, neque aculeos oratorios ac forenses habet, Cic. Or. 19, 62; cf. id. de Or. 3, 21, 80: nervi in dicendo, id. ib. 2, 22, 91: sectantem levia nervi Deficiunt, Hor. A. P. 26.

Origins

By a metathesis of Old Latin *neuros, from Proto-Italic *(s)nēuros, a thematicization of Proto-Indo-European *snḗh₁wr̥ (“sinew, tendon”). Cognates include Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “tendon, string, nerve”), Old English sinu (“tendon, nerve, sinew”). More at English nerve.

Elsewhere
  • Englishnerve
  • Frenchnerf
  • GermanNerv
  • Italiannerbo
  • Italiannervo
  • Portuguesenervo
  • Romaniannerv
  • Catalannervifrom Vulgar Latin nervium
  • Spanishnerviofrom Vulgar Latin nervium
  • Dalmatianniar
Norwegian
  • Norwegian Bokmålnerve
  • Norwegian Nynorsknerve

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesNervusNervus a sort of stocks (ξύλον, also ποδοκάκκη, χοῖνιξ), in which criminals were confined, used frequently as a punishment for slaves. The illustrated…

Quick answers

What does nervus mean in Latin?
nervus, a noun, means “a cord, string, thong or wire; the leather with which shields were covered; a fiber”.
What is the genitive of nervus?
The genitive singular is nervī. nervus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce nervus?
In classical Latin, [ˈnɛr.wʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈnɛr.vus].