NERVOUSNESS

nervous |ˈnərvəs| adjective 1 easily agitated or alarmed; tending to be anxious; highly strung : a sensitive, nervous person | these quick, nervous birds. • anxious or apprehensive : staying in the house on her own made her nervous | I was nervous about my new job. • (of a feeling or reaction) resulting from anxiety or anticipation : nervous energy. 2 relating to or affecting the nerves : a nervous disorder. DERIVATIVES nervously adverb nervousness noun ORIGIN late Middle English (in the senses [containing nerves] and [relating to the nerves] ): from Latin nervosus ‘sinewy, vigorous,’ from nervus ‘sinew’ (see nerve ). Sense 1 dates from the mid 18th cent.