'nerve-toxic' originates from English, a compound of 'nerve' and 'toxic'; 'nerve' ultimately traces to Latin 'nervus', where 'nerv-' meant 'sinew, tendon', and 'toxic' traces to Greek 'toxikon', where 'toxikon' meant 'poison' (originally 'poison for arrows').

'toxic' passed into English via Latin 'toxicus' and Old French 'toxique'; 'nerve' entered English from Latin 'nervus' through Old/Middle English; the compound 'nerve-toxic' is a modern English formation used in scientific and medical contexts to mean 'toxic to nerves'.

Initially, 'toxikon' referred specifically to poisons used on arrows, and 'nerve' referred to sinew or tendon; over time the element 'toxic' generalized to mean 'poisonous', and the compound evolved to mean 'poisonous or damaging to the nervous system' (modern usage).