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 May 6, 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...

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

Where “nervous system” sits in English frequency

nervous system falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

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.

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.

Using “nervous system”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is N-E-R-V-O-U-S- -S-Y-S-T-E-M - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list