nervine

[nur-veen, -vahyn]

adjective

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

noun

a nervine medicine.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for nervine

Historical Examples of nervine

Dose: Nervine and alterative, 1/6—1/3 grn.; emetic, 2—5 grn.
Merck's 1899 Manual
Merck & Co.
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
She had gone into the acquisition of knowledge and the development of thought as some women go into the intoxication of a nervine.
The Adventures of a Widow
Edgar Fawcett
Resin of amber smells strongly of musk, and is said to be antispasmodic and nervine.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
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

British Dictionary definitions for nervine

nervine

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