Definition of "nerve" []

• Any of the cordlike bundles of fibers made up of neurons through which sensory stimuli and motor impulses pass between the brain or other parts of the central nervous system and the eyes, glands, muscles, and other parts of the body. Nerves form a network of pathways for conducting information throughout the body. (noun)
• The sensitive tissue in the pulp of a tooth. (noun)
• A sore point or sensitive subject: The criticism touched a nerve. (noun)
• Courage and control under pressure: lost his nerve at the last minute. (noun)
• Fortitude; stamina. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Here can be found a little patch of mucous membrane of a deep yellowish color, which is very sensitive to smells, and from which a number of tiny little nerve twigs run up to form the nerve of smell (_olfactory nerve_), which goes directly to the brain."
• "The sensitive retina, spreading out, as it does, to form the back of the eyeball, is the nerve-coat of the eye; and from its centre a thick round bundle of nerve fibres, known as the _optic nerve_, runs back to the brain."
• "How does the nerve of the eye (the _optic nerve_) get its messages?"