nervine

[ nur-veen, -vahyn ]

/ ˈnɜr vin, -vaɪn /

adjective

of or relating to the nerves.

acting on or relieving disorders of the nerves; soothing the nerves.

noun

a nervine medicine.

Nearby words

nerve-racking, nerveless, nerves, nervi, nervimotor, nervine, nerving, nervon, nervonic acid, nervosity, nervous

Origin of nervine

1655–65; < New Latin nervīnus, equivalent to Latin nerv(us) nerve + -īnus -ine¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nervine

Ale or beer flavoured or medicated by infusing the leaves of ground ivy in it; pectoral, stomachic, and nervine.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Dose: Nervine and alterative, 1/6—1/3 grn.; emetic, 2—5 grn.
Merck's 1899 Manual|Merck & Co.
The medicinal qualities are known to be a mild tonic, stimulant, nervine and stomachic.
Ginseng and Other Medicinal Plants|A. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding
This is the nervine balsam and nervine ointment of the shops in the Peninsula, and in some other parts of Southern Europe.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley

It has a nervine property, by which it excites the nervous system inordinately, and exhilarates the brain.
Fifteen Years in Hell|Luther Benson

British Dictionary definitions for nervine

nervine

/ (ˈnɜːviːn) /

adjective

having a soothing or calming effect upon the nerves

noun

obsolete a nervine drug or agent

Word Origin for nervine

C17: from New Latin nervīnus, from Latin nervus nerve

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012