nervous system

noun

"nervous-system" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nervous system” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An organ system whose principal constituent is nervous tissue that coordinates the activities of muscles, monitors organs, constructs and processes data received from the senses, and initiates acti...

Corpus desk

Index EN-nervous-system · nervous system · English

nervous system · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for nervous system
PropertyValue
Headwordnervous system
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nervous system” in English

nervous systemsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nervous system is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "An organ system whose principal constituent is nervous tissue that coordinates the activities of muscles, monitors organs, constructs and processes data received from the senses, and initiates acti...".

No misspelling variants are generated for nervous system in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1703, nervous + system. The correct English form is nervous system, spelled N-E-R-V-O-U-S- -S-Y-S-T-E-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    An organ system whose principal constituent is nervous tissue that coordinates the activities of muscles, monitors organs, constructs and processes data received from the senses, and initiates actions.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nervous system appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Sudden anger rose in him. “What I’m looking for,” he barked, “is to be left in peace.” His voice trembled with a rage far bigger than her intrusion merited, the rage which shocked him whenever it coursed through his nervous system, like a flood.
  2. Biotics manipulate mass effect fields using dozens of element zero nodules within their nervous system that react to electric stimuli from the brain. Amplifiers allow biotics to synchronize the nodules so they can form fields large and strong enough for practical use.

Etymology

1703, nervous + system.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nervous system"?
"nervous system" is spelled N-E-R-V-O-U-S- -S-Y-S-T-E-M.
What does "nervous system" mean?
As a noun, "nervous system" means: An organ system whose principal constituent is nervous tissue that coordinates the activities of muscles, monitors organs, constructs and processes data received from the senses, and initiates acti...
What is the origin of the word "nervous system"?
1703, nervous + system. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list