nerf

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From automobile racing; to bump another car (ca. 1950s?).

Verb

nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)

  1. (motor racing) To bump lightly, whether accidentally or purposefully.
    A racer will often nerf another as a psychological tactic.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From the trademark NERF for toy guns firing missiles of soft foam, ineffective as actual weapons (1969).

Verb

nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)

  1. (slang, video games) To cripple, weaken, worsen, deteriorate or debuff (a character, a weapon, a spell, etc.)
    The lightning spell was originally pretty powerful, but in the sequel they nerfed it so it became completely useless.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Noun

nerf (plural nerfs)

  1. (slang, video games) The weakening or deterioration of a character, a weapon, a spell, etc.

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)

Etymology 1

From earlier nerve, from Middle Dutch *narwe, from Old Dutch *narwa, from Proto-Germanic *narwō. For the change of -rwe → -rf, compare verf.

Noun

nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

  1. grain of wood

Etymology 2

From Latin nervus.

Noun

nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

  1. (obsolete) nerve
  2. vein of a leaf

French

Etymology

From Middle French nerf, from Old French nerf, inherited from Latin nervus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɛʁ/
  • audio(file)

Noun

nerf m (plural nerfs)

  1. (anatomy) nerve
  2. (figuratively) force, power, strength
    Les nerfs, les garçons! On n'est pas sur un bateau de plaisance. — Put some muscle into it, boys! We are not on a pleasure boat!

Derived terms

Further reading

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nerf.

Noun

nerf m (plural nerfz)

  1. nerve

Descendants

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nervus.

Noun

nerf m (oblique plural ners, nominative singular ners, nominative plural nerf)

  1. nerve
    • 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 185 of this essay:
      Donc lepre est maladie de chair et non pas du cueur, ne des os, de des nerfs etc.
      Therefore leprosy is a disease of the flesh and not of the heart, nor of the bones, nor of the nerves, etc.

Descendants

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɛrv/

Noun

nerf f (plural nerfau)

  1. nerve

Derived terms

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