nerf
English
editPronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /nɜːf/
- (General American) IPA(key): /nɝf/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f
Etymology 1
editCirca 1950s? (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb
editnerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)
- (motor racing, transitive) To bump lightly, whether accidentally or purposefully.
- A racer will often nerf another as a psychological tactic.
- 1953, Henry Gregor Felsen, Street Rod, Random House, page 129:
- "The crazy fool!" Ricky exclaimed. "Nerfing me!"
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editFrom the Nerf brand of toys designed as non-dangerous counterparts of existing things, such as sports balls and guns. Originally used to equate a change in the damage of a weapon in a video game to a change from real weapons to Nerf weapons.
Verb
editnerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)
- (transitive, slang, video games) To change a mechanic, an ability or a character in a video game in order to make a previously dominant strategy less viable or less effective.
- Synonym: gimp
- The lightning spell was originally pretty powerful, but in the sequel they nerfed it so it became completely useless.
- (transitive, slang) To arbitrarily limit or reduce the capability of.
- 2019 May 17, Fred Lambert, Electrek[1], retrieved 2019-05-19:
- Tesla nerfs Autopilot in Europe due to new regulations
Synonyms
editAntonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
editNoun
editnerf (plural nerfs)
- (slang, video games) The deterioration, weakening or worsening of a character, a weapon, a spell, etc.
Anagrams
editDutch
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom earlier nerve, from Middle Dutch *narwe, either inherited from Old Dutch *narwa or borrowed from Middle Low German narwe, eventually from Proto-Germanic *narwō, from earlier *arwaz (“scar”).[1]
For the change of -rwe → -rf, compare verf. Cognate with German Narbe (“scar”).
Noun
editnerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)
Descendants
edit- Afrikaans: nerf
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editFrom Latin nervus. The botanic sense belongs historically to this word, but is semantically close to etymology 1 and hence not necessarily felt as a distinct word.
Noun
editnerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editReferences
edit- ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013) “arwiz-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 37-38
French
editEtymology
editInherited from Middle French nerf, from Old French nerf, inherited from Latin nervus.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnerf m (plural nerfs)
- (anatomy) nerve
- (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
edit- à bout de nerfs
- avoir les nerfs à vif
- crise de nerfs
- du nerf
- énerver
- être sur les nerfs
- guerre des nerfs
- innerver
- nerf crânien
- nerf de bœuf
- nerf du canal ptérygoïdien
- nerf phrénique
- nerf radial
- nerf sacculaire
- nerf saphène
- nerf sciatique
- nerf spinal
- nerf splanchnique
- nerf subclavier
- nerf trijumeau
- nerf trochléaire
- nerf vague
- nerf vestibulocochléaire
- nerf vidien
- nerval
- nerver
- nerveux
- nervure
- passer ses nerfs
- taper sur les nerfs
Related terms
editFurther reading
edit- “nerf”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Middle French
editEtymology
editFrom Old French nerf.
Noun
editnerf m (plural nerfz)
Descendants
edit- French: nerf
Old French
editEtymology
editNoun
editnerf oblique singular, m (oblique plural ners, nominative singular ners, nominative plural nerf)
- 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.
Related terms
editDescendants
editWelsh
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editNoun
editnerf f (plural nerfau, not mutable)
Derived terms
edit- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- en:Motor racing
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English slang
- en:Video games
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English genericized trademarks
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛrf
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛrf/1 syllable
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Low German
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch feminine nouns
- Dutch dated terms
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with obsolete senses
- nl:Botany
- French terms inherited from Middle French
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms inherited from Old French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms inherited from Latin
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with audio links
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Anatomy
- French terms with usage examples
- French terms with irregularly silent consonant
- Middle French terms inherited from Old French
- Middle French terms derived from Old French
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French nouns
- Middle French masculine nouns
- Middle French countable nouns
- frm:Anatomy
- Old French terms inherited from Latin
- Old French terms derived from Latin
- Old French lemmas
- Old French nouns
- Old French masculine nouns
- Old French terms with quotations
- fro:Anatomy
- Welsh terms borrowed from English
- Welsh terms derived from English
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh lemmas
- Welsh nouns
- Welsh countable nouns
- Welsh non-mutable terms
- Welsh feminine nouns
- cy:Anatomy
- cy:Neurology