one-nerved
|one-nerved|
🇺🇸
/ˌwʌnˈnɜrvd/
🇬🇧
/ˌwʌnˈnɜːvd/
having a single nerve
Etymology
'one-nerved' is a modern English compound formed from 'one' + past-participle/adjectival form of 'nerve'. 'One' ultimately comes from Old English 'ān' meaning 'one', and 'nerve' ultimately derives from Latin 'nervus' meaning 'sinew, tendon, nerve'.
'nerve' passed from Latin 'nervus' into Old French 'nerf' and Middle English 'nerve'. The compound 'one-nerved' is a productive Modern English formation combining the numeral 'one' with the adjective-form of 'nerve'.
Originally a literal description meaning 'having a single nerve'; by extension (rare/archaic) it came to be used figuratively for someone with a single dominant emotional impulse or narrow range of feeling.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having only one nerve; supplied or constituted by a single nerve (literal, anatomical or biological).
The preserved specimen appeared one-nerved, with a single nerve trunk visible along the limb.
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Adjective 2
rare/archaic figurative use: having a single strong impulse or emotional response; single-minded or showing a narrow range of feeling or sensation.
Contemporaries sometimes called him one-nerved for his unwavering devotion to a single cause.
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Last updated: 2025/12/26 19:49